


House Arrest

by asecretchord



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bonding, Drama, M/M, Mpreg, Rituals, Submission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-18
Updated: 2012-02-18
Packaged: 2017-10-31 08:53:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/342202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asecretchord/pseuds/asecretchord
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Discovered in a forbidden relationship with Harry Potter, the Ministry threatens to take Severus into custody whilst the Department of Magical Law Enforcement investigates the matter.  Fearing the worst, Severus and Harry decide to act before the Wizengamot can try him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	House Arrest

**Author's Note:**

> Parts of this read like a DMLE deposition transcript. [Q] is the Ministry official; [A] is the respondent. For an image of how I imagine Harry and Severus' house to appear, [go here](http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/12800000/Bandits-cate-blanchett-12834584-853-480.jpg).

_[Q]: We are on the record. It is approximately 1:18 in the afternoon on 30 May 1998. I am Senior Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, conducting the first interrogation of the accused, Severus Tobias Snape. Mr Snape—_

_[A]: That would be Professor Snape. I am still employed._

_[Q]: —has been offered Veritaserum and the use of a Pensieve and has declined both. Tell me approximately when you became intimately acquainted with the victim._

_[A]: Victim? Is that how we're referring to Potter now?_

With a wave of his wand, Shacklebolt stopped the Auto-Quill from taking notes. "This will go much more quickly if you cooperate, Severus."

Severus leaned forward the small amount his bonds would allow. "Then lay a proper foundation first," he snarled. "I've not done anything wrong, yet I'm the 'accused' and Potter is the 'victim'. Potter would not appreciate hearing that."

_[Q]: We're back on the record. When did you first become intimately acquainted with_ Mr Potter _?_

_[A]: 18 December 1984. I believe it was a Tuesday._

_[Q]: You became intimately acquainted with him when he was four?_

_[A]: You know the story as well as I do, Kingsley. Shall we go off the record?_

_[Q]: No. We'll stay on whilst you explain yourself._

_[A]: Very well. I had the duty that week, as you well know. Arabella was in hospital, and even though the Dark Lord had disappeared, Albus Dumbledore was uneasy about the Potter child's safety. I—_

_[Q]: Do you always refer to him as Potter?_

_[A]: Yes. As I was saying, it was my turn to keep watch, so I Apparated to Privet Drive as soon as my classes ended for the day. Not long after I arrived, I saw the Dursleys pull into their drive. As soon as they exited their vehicle, a Vauxhall Astra if it makes any difference, I heard Petunia Dursley, Potter's aunt, say, "Are you quite certain he's dead, Vernon? I don't want that little freak to turn up alive." As all of the Dursleys were accounted for, I could only conclude she meant her nephew._

_I entered their house, extracted the information I required from Dursley's mind, and Disapparated immediately to the small stream where they'd hidden Potter's body in a depression under a fallen log. I gathered up the remains and prepared to tell Dumbledore that the child had been murdered when he had a small seizure, thus demonstrating that the moniker by which he is known is very aptly bestowed._

_Once at Hogwarts, I removed his clothes: a thin t-shirt, a filthy pair of boy's pants, a pair of socks and one shoe. It was two degrees below zero, he was hypothermic, had eight broken ribs, four broken vertebrae, a severe concussion, a compound fracture of his left femur, full dislocation of his right shoulder, was at least a stone underweight, suffered from dehydration and had five toy soldiers shoved into his rectum. Oh, and he'd apparently been burnt with an iron. I would say I became intimately acquainted with Potter that night, yes. Poppy Pomfrey and I spent the next forty-eight hours trying to keep the boy alive and it was six weeks before he was strong enough to leave the infirmary._

_[Q]: It's hard to believe he survived._

_[A]: Yes, it is. Over Albus' strong objections, I took custody of him that night. ~~The appropriate paperwork was smuggled into the Ministry by members of the Order.~~_

_[Q]: Strike the accused's last. Very well, Severus. When did you begin sexual relations with Harry Potter?_

_[A]: About 5:30 yesterday evening. Ms Granger walked in eighteen minutes later._

_[Q]: So that was the first time you and he had relations?_

_[A]: For Merlin's sake, Kingsley. Say what you mean. Is that the first time Potter and I fucked? No, but that wasn't the question you asked, was it?_

_[Q]: This is an official Ministry inquiry, Severus. We don't—_

_[A]: You don't what? Fuck? Shag? Screw? Have sex? Make love? That would explain a great many things._

Frustrated with Severus's waspish answers, Kingsley's gaze hardened further as he lifted his wand. It was a breach of protocol, but anyone reading the transcript or viewing his memories would appreciate his current levels of frustration.

_[Q]:_ Legilimens. __

_[A]: Other than learning you'll give yourself a headache if you do that, Kingsley, did you discover anything?_

_[Q]: Not a thing. To use your words, when did you and Harry first start having sex?_

_[A]: 20 December 1996. I performed fellatio on him and then sodomised him. In the early hours of 21 December, I sodomised him again. Several hours after dawn, he returned the favour by fellating me as I tutored him in his technique._

_[Q]: By what method or methods did you seduce him?_

_[A]: I said yes._

_[Q]: Pardon me?_

_[A]: I succumbed to his advances._

_[Q]: Are you seriously blaming Harry for your conduct?_

_[A]: Blaming him? No, I am telling you that it was consensual, is consensual and will be consensual tonight when I pound his delightful little arse through the mattress._

_[Q]: Could you possibly be any more vulgar?_

_[A]: I am a former Death Eater, Kingsley. Of course I can be more vulgar. Have you any further questions for me? Or have I satisfied your prurient interest enough to let me return to Hogwarts? Potter is waiting and he is not a patient man._

_[Q]: When did Harry first begin making advances towards you?_

_[A]: Hmmm. I believe he was five, nearly six, so early summer 1986. I cannot recall the exact date._

_[Q]: Do you expect me to believe that?_

_[A]: Yes, actually. I do._

_[Q]: Explain._

_[A]: Despite the fact that you have not asked a question designed to elicit a response, I will, in the spirit of cooperation, provide you with an answer. He told me he was going to marry me when he got bigger._

_[Q]: When he was five._

_[A]: Yes._

_[Q]: And you believed him?_

_[A]: Of course not. But you asked me when he first began making advances._

_[Q]: Did it ever occur to you to dismiss that statement as the wishful thinking of an abused child?_

_[A]: Is there the slightest possibility that the Wizengamot will outlaw stupid questions?_

_[Q]: Severus…_

_[A]: I thought not. The first time he told me, I told him he was much too young to decide such matters. I told him this on the second, third, fourth and fifth occasions. I continued to tell him the same thing as he aged, until after he had started at Hogwarts. That was about the time I encouraged him to make friends with the members of his House. I also told him we would not discuss it again until he came of age._

_[Q]: Approximately how many times in all did he inform you he planned to marry you?_

_[A]: If we are to include the variations on this theme, I would say approximately 394._

_[Q]: Three hundred and ninety-four is an approximation?_

_[A]: Yes, it could easily be twice that. I was using a conservative estimate. At least once a week for a period of roughly six years._

_[Q]: And when did it become sexual?_

_[A]: When did what become sexual? Our conversations about marriage? Our relationship? His advances? Mine? We will accomplish nothing at this rate._

_[Q]: Then why don't we take them in turn? When did your conversations about marriage become sexual?_

_[A]: If you are asking if we discuss marriage whilst I am shagging him senseless, then yes, we do from time to time. If you are asking me the date of the first occurrence, then it was 21 December 1996. He requested I consider marriage to him after the third time he came. There is no point asking me when I deflowered him; I have already provided you with that information._

_[Q]: At what point during your guardianship did Harry's 'advances', as you call them, become sexual?_

Severus lifted an eyebrow at the sarcasm running underneath the question. If Kingsley or anyone else from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement wanted insight into Harry's motivations, they'd best ask Potter himself. He'd been nearly certain the Ministry planned to file formal charges; this mockery of an investigation merely confirmed his suspicions.

_[A]: On or about 15 July 1995. It was shortly before Potter's fifteenth birthday. I never made any advances towards the boy._

_[Q]: One last question. When you took custody of Harry, did you invoke a familial bond with him?_

_[A]: No._

_[Q]: It is now approximately—_

_[A]: I estimate that the Auror Corps has a vocabulary of approximately five hundred words. Approximately._

_[Q]: It is now 3:52. This concludes the initial interrogation of Severus Tobias Snape, case file number 982905ASA-KSNT Spec Circs. You are remanded to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry under the supervision of Headmistress Minerva McGonagall. You are not to leave the boundaries of the school without her knowledge or the authorisation of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. As Harry is an adult wizard, I cannot forbid you to contact him, though it would be in your best interest to refrain from doing so._

_[A]: *silence*_

_[Q]: We are off the record._

~*~

"How could you, Severus," Minerva McGonagall all but screeched as she stalked through her office, her voice shaking with rage. "How could you..." she fumbled for a decent word as she spun on her heel, her Tartan robes swirling out behind her, " _seduce_ Harry Potter?"

"I've found that kissing him just behind—"

"Not one more word," she said firmly, glaring at him through her square spectacles. "I see you don't deny it. Kingsley said as much but I didn't want to believe him." Pulling open a drawer, she dropped Severus' wand into it, then charmed it closed. 

Sitting down in a whirl of fine black wool, Severus rested his elbows on the arms of the chair and pressed his fingertips together as he waited to hear the terms of his probation under the Headmistress' authority. "Potter is of age now and was of the age of consent the first time I took him. There is nothing in the Charter prohibiting such relations, as you are well aware. I fail to see why the Ministry or the Board feels the need to peer into our bedroom to see what we are doing."

Minerva drew back, revulsion twisting her features. "He is your son, Severus. That is more than reason enough. This _relationship_ ," she all but spat, "is completely unnatural and morally reprehensible."

"He _was_ my ward. He is _not_ my son," snarled Severus. "There are no bonds between us and certainly no blood. There is nothing illegal in what we do."

Minerva's eyes glinted dangerously and Severus drew back a little, brow furrowed. "Except that he is a student in your N.E.W.T. Potions class," she said her voice chilly. "I don't mind telling you the Board is reading the Charter quite carefully to see if there is a provision under the 'Abuse of Authority' clause to sanction you."

Severus arched an eyebrow. "Shall I submit my letter of resignation? Again?"

Some of the fury left McGonagall's face, and her careworn face seemed much older. "That won't be necessary, Severus. You have already mentioned your intent to move on once the term is over." Sad green eyes turned upon her colleague of many years. "Just tell me why, Severus."

Coming to his feet, Severus's eyes travelled over the room, noting the little bits of Minerva that had crept in over the last year. He paused at the threshold and glanced back at her before giving a cryptic reply. "The greatest power of all."

The answer made no sense whatsoever. "Harry will be finishing Potions with Horace. You are not to be alone with him until after the Leaving Feast. Am I understood?"

"Perfectly," growled Severus as he slammed the door behind him.

~*~

_[Q]: We are on the record. It is approximately 10:18 in the morning on 5 June 1998. This is Auror Nymphadora Tonks conducting an investigative interview with the victim, Ha—_

_[A]: I am not a victim!_

_[Q]: Harry._

_[A]: I'm not! I'm seventeen. I'm taking my N.E.W.T.s week after next, and we're getting married as soon as we can arrange things._

_[Q]: The Ministry believes you to be a victim of Aggravated Sexual Assault with Special Circumstances. That's what I'm interviewing you about. Can I just get through the first part? Then you can say whatever you want. That all right with you?_

_[A]: Yeah, I guess._

_[Q]: We are on the record. It is approximately 10:20 in the morning on 6 June 1998. This is Auror Nymphadora Tonks conducting an investigative interview with the victim, Harry James Potter. Harry, in order to ensure we have a complete record, I am offering you the choice of taking Veritaserum or placing your memories about your relationship with the accused—_

_[A]: *Indeterminate*_

_[Q]: Severus Tobias Snape. Per Ministry regulations, you have the right to decline. We're off the record._

"Wotcher, Harry." Tonks gazed at him, her usual bright bubblegum pink hair faded to dull beige. Having to conduct this interview was thoroughly depressing to her. "Mind a bit of advice?"

"Depends," replied Harry sullenly. "Are you going to insist I'm being abused, too? That my being with Snape is 'perverted and obscene'?"

"Doesn't matter what I think, now does it? S'not my father facing fifty years in Azkaban for raping his son," stated Tonks, studying Harry's reaction carefully. His lip curled in a credible imitation of Severus's sneer. "I was going to suggest you take the Veritaserum. It limits what we can ask to direct questions, though you can say more if you want to. Just so you're aware, anything you tell me is used against him by the Wizengamot."

Harry snarled. The Ministry were raving if they thought he'd let them put Severus in Azkaban for fifty seconds, much less fifty years. Surely his Order of Merlin, First Class, counted for something. "What if it's in his favour? Or, you know, shows it's not his fault?"

"Then they might reduce it to forty years, given that he's already confessed." Tonks held up a tiny bottle filled with clear liquid. "Veritaserum? Or would you rather spend the entire day being questioned?"

Harry obediently opened his mouth.

_[Q]: We're back on the record. I've administered three drops of Veritaserum, vial number RJHK 8742 to Harry James Potter. What is your name?_

_[A]: Whoa. The walls are breathing._

_[Q]: All right there, Harry?_

_[A]: Oh, yesssssss._

_[Q]: Is your name Harold William Potherd?_

_[A]: What? No, it's Harry James Potter. James was my dad's name, y'know. He was murdered by Voldemort when I was a—_

_[Q]: That's right. Try to stay with yes or no answers. I would like you to try to lie to me, Harry. Do you understand?_

_[A]: Yes._

_[Q]: Your boyfriend's name is Ronald Bilius Weasley, correct?_

_[A]: Yes. No. No! Ow, my head! Ron's straight. I don't have a boyfriend. *groaning* My fiancé is Severus Snape._

_[Q]: Did you first meet Severus Snape in December 1984?_

_[A]: No._

_[Q]: Did your first sexual encounter with Severus Snape take place on 20 December 1996?_

_[A]: First sexual encounter? *laughter* No. God, no. Did he tell you that? I mean, it's all right if he did but no. Not to my way of thinking._

_[Q]: Snape said you seduced him. Is that correct?_

_[A]: What? That Snape said it? Yeah, that sounds like something he'd say._

_[Q]: Did you seduce him?_

_[A]: If that's how you'd like to think of it. It sounded more like begging to me._

_[Q]: That was in December 1996, right?_

_[A]: Yes, the night I killed Voldemort and a bunch of Death Eaters. You were there, you know. Don't you remember how it was?_

_[Q]: Yeah, I do. We're off the record._

Deep pain and regret settled into the world-weary gaze of Harry Potter and as she looked across the table at him, Tonks thought him the oldest 17 year-old she had ever seen. The trials he'd lived through, the tribulations he had endured would have destroyed a lesser man, and Tonks couldn't help but wonder if prosecuting the lover of the Boy-Who-Lived was in anyone's best interest. It clearly wasn't in Harry's.

"All right there, Harry?" she asked, wrenching him out his dark thoughts.

Harry started and stared at her through hooded eyes as he pulled his thoughts away from Dumbledore, Lupin, Bill, Ginny, Dean and the dozens of others who had perished that day. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said dismissively, and given that he was under the influence of Veritaserum, he must believe it to be true.

"Let's try a different tack," she suggested. "Maybe talk more about your relationship."

_[Q]: We're on the record. Would you characterise your early relationship with Snape as familial?_

_[A]: D'you mean did I think of him as my father?_

_[Q]: Yes, that is what I mean._

_[A]: You mean, because I was a little kid and he was an adult, the only way I could possibly see him is as a parent?_

_[Q]: I'm not trying to put words in your mouth. Want to come back to this later?_

_[A]: Please?_

_[Q]: Did Snape propose marriage?_

_[A]: No, I did._

_[Q]: You proposed marriage?_

_[A]: Yes. No. I asked him to bond with me. It's sort of like marriage, but Muggles get married and magical folk get bonded._

_[Q]: Yes, Harry, I know. Snape stated you said you wanted to marry him when—_

_[A]: When I was little? Yeah. Still do._

_[Q]: Snape, Harry?_

_[A]: Yes._

_[Q]: You dated a Ravenclaw...Cho Chong—_

_[A]: Chang. Her last name is Chang, and yeah, I suppose we dated. And I dated Ginny for a bit last year. Before she was killed._

_[Q]: Whilst you were having relations with Snape?_

_[A]: No!_

_[Q]: But for a period of approximately two years you were intimate with girls, young witches._

_[A]: Intimate? Merlin, Tonks. I'd hardly call snogging a couple of times 'intimate'. Can't really equate snogging with shagging, can I? Why don't you just ask me stuff? I can't lie under Veritaserum, you know._

_[Q]: Harry, you know as well as I do that if I ask you open-ended questions, you're likely to get a terrible headache._

_[A]: After Voldemort, I doubt you could do worse._

_[Q]: All right. What did Ms Granger see when she walked into Professor Snape's quarters at ten minutes before six o'clock on Friday, 29 May of this year?_

_[A]: I expect she saw me flat on my back on Sev's desk with my ankles on his shoulders whilst he was reaming my arse with his cock. I believe I was demanding he fuck me harder._

_[Q]: She walked in whilst you were having relations?_

_[A]: No, she walked in on us fucking. We don't have relations._

_[Q]: Have you spoken with Snape since 30 May?_

_[A]: Spoken? No. You lot are determined to keep us apart._

_[Q]: Have you communicated with him about his interview with Senior Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt?_

_[A]: I know who Kingsley is, Tonks._

_[Q]: Harry._

_[A]: No, all right? Why?_

_[Q]: Well, you sound a bit like him is all. When was your first sexual encounter with Snape?_

_[A]: Hmmm, a couple of weeks before my fifteenth birthday._

_[Q]: Where did this take place?_

_[A]: In the bathroom._

_[Q]: Whose bathroom?_

_[A]: Ours._

_[Q]: At Spinner's End?_

_[A]: Yeah. There's just the one, you know. It's kind of old and a bit shabby, the house I mean. I like it, though._

_[Q]: What time of day was it?_

_[A]: Morning._

_[Q]: I'm going to ask you to describe the incident for me. If your head should start to hurt, stop talking, okay?_

_[A]: Okay._

_[Q]: Will you tell me what happened?_

_[A]: Yes.  
[A]: You have to ask me a better question, Tonks._

_[Q]: Yeah, I guess I do. What happened that morning that sexualised your relationship?_

_[A]: You talk really weird when you're being an Auror, you know that? Making your nose look like his is not helping._

_[Q]: Thought it might trigger your memory. Sorry, Harry._

_[A]: There's nothing wrong with my memory. All right, Snape was showering and I needed to use the loo, but when I walked in, he was wanking._

_[Q]: And he made you watch?_

_[A]: Made me? Is that what you think of him? That makes me sick, Tonks. No, it wasn't anything like that. I heard him whilst I was taking a piss and I decided I wanted to help so I got in the shower with him._

_[Q]: Did you know he was masturbating?_

_[A]: I just said I heard him, didn't I? I do know what wanking is._

_[Q]: Were you accustomed to using the bathroom when he was thus engaged?_

_[A]: Do you mean did I walk in on him wanking all the time?_

_[Q]: Well, not quite, but..._

_[A]: We've never been shy around each other. You went to Hogwarts. You know what living in the dorms is like._

_[Q]: So that wasn't the first time you'd seen him masturbate?_

_[A]: No, it was. Before then I'd only heard him do it._

_[Q]: Didn't he put up Silencing Charms?_

_[A]: Why would he? He didn't want me growing up ashamed of my body. He's quite practical, you know._

_[Q]: If you say so. What happened after you entered the shower?_

_[A]: Well, he stopped jerking off so I reached out and started to kneel to, you know, taste him, but he told me to get out, dry off and wait for him in the living room._

_[Q]: Did he scold you or yell at you or punish you in any way?_

_[A]: No, we saved that routine for Hogwarts. We had to be enemies there._

_[Q]: What happened in the living room?_

_[A]: He told me we could not, under any circumstances, have sex until I was old enough._

_[Q]: Not before you came of age, then?_

_[A]: Uhh, well, he said I'd be lucky to be old enough by the time I reached his age. Then he called me an insolent whelp and a dunderheaded idiot, and then he gave me a hug._

_[Q]: Did he hug you often?_

_[A]: Always when we were at home. He's really quite affectionate._

_[Q]: Snape? Affectionate? Severus Snape?_

_[A]: Yeah, he is. Neither of us got much affection when we were little._

_[Q]: Is it safe to say that neither of you had much experience with normal family relationships?_

_[A]: You'd be dead wrong if you did._

_[Q]: Your story is pretty well-known, Harry. Do you know anyone who grew up like you did?_

_[A]: Luna Lovegood's mother died when she was nine. Neville Longbottom was raised by his grandmother. Ron Weasley is the sixth son out of seven kids. What makes my childhood any different from theirs?_

_[Q]: Harry..._

_[A]: No, I'm going to speak now and you're going to listen. You can have your Dicta-quill or whatever it's called take down everything or you can listen, but it's my turn now._

_[Q]: We're off the record._

Harry pressed his fingers together and stared at his hands for a few moments whilst Tonks sat quietly, observing him, cataloguing her impressions for her report. She gave her wand a quick flick. "Start at the beginning. It's usually best that way."

A wry grin twisted Harry's lips. "I'm not quite certain where that is. I'll start when I woke up, okay? I was four and a lot of it didn't make any sense until I was a lot older, but Snape will be able to confirm everything I tell you."

"Just say what's on your mind. When you're done, we're done." Her wand twitched again and the Quill hovered over the parchment, ready to take notes.

_[Q]: We're back on the record. Victim has requested a narrative._

Harry green eyes grew fierce and he took a deep breath. When he spoke his words were measured and calm.

_[A]: For the first five months I lived with Snape I didn't say a word. I remember Dumbledore checking on me regularly and every time he was there, he and Snape argued about whether it was appropriate for him to watch over me. But Snape wouldn't hear of sending me back to my relatives or letting Dumbledore send me somewhere else, not given what had happened. Sev...Snape thought Hogwarts was safe enough, and no one besides the three of them: Snape, Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore, knew where I was._

_[A]: I had terrible nightmares then, night terrors I guess you call 'em, and I never slept more than a couple of hours without waking up screaming hysterically. After about a month of that, Snape fell asleep holding me and we both slept all night. Bear in mind I was four, all right? Usually, he'd just read to me, potions journals or classic literature, 'til I fell asleep for a couple of hours, then we'd do it all over again._

_[A]: I wasn't talking then. I could, I just didn't know it was allowed. My uncle used to beat me to a pulp if I made any noise at all, so I learnt at an early age not to make much sound. When I was dreaming, though, I'd start screaming before I could stop myself. By the end of February, Snape was on the verge of exhaustion, so one night he just took me to bed with him. Bear in mind I was a full year smaller than I should have been. Snape thinks I weighed about thirty pounds soaking wet and might have been three feet tall. Pomfrey would know for certain. It was the second time I'd slept through the night since I came out of the coma._

_[A]: You have to understand my life then. I slept in Snape's bed because that was the only place I_ could _sleep. We'd get up early, then Snape would conceal me under Disillusionment Charms and Notice-Me-Not spells when it was time to go up to the Great Hall for Breakfast. He created wizard space under the table and under his desk in the Potions classroom and I'd stay there, staring at his legs to make sure he didn't go anywhere. It took us a couple of weeks to work out things during his Potions class, 'cause he had to move around and I panicked completely when I couldn't see him._

_[Q]: Could his students hear you?_

_[A]: I don't think so. He must have used a monitoring spell of some sort. Anyway, I was four and living under a table or under a desk when I wasn't in Snape's bed. Dumbledore wasn't best pleased, but I was far more accustomed to small enclosed spaces than being in a normal sized room. Snape thought about leaving me with the house-elves while he was teaching, but they're pretty scary to a little kid who has no knowledge of them._

_[A]: The first time I spoke was when we went to Spinner's End for the summer. It's a little place: two-up, two-down with the fireplace on the east wall and the stairs at the west end of the house. He carried me through the Floo and the first thing I saw when we stepped out was a cupboard under the stairs. From what he tells me, I came completely unhinged: panicking and screaming and promising to be good --my first words to him-- so he wouldn't put me in there. I'd have made a deal with Voldemort if I'd known who he was to keep from being put back in a cupboard again._

_[A]: Snape didn't know about that part, the cupboard I mean, and the second I got free from his arms I ran back into the fireplace, only by that time the Floo powder had burnt off and I lit myself on fire. I went up like a roman candle and singed off my hair, my eyebrows, my clothes, and was burnt pretty badly. Snape got Pomfrey there pretty quickly and between the two of them, they got me calmed down and healed up by the end of the day. I think I got called every name in Snape's book that day, but as vicious as his words were, he was really gentle. I think that was the first time I really knew I'd be safe with him._

_[A]: Bear in mind Snape was twenty-five and trying to take care of a severely abused child. I make no apologies for my past. It was beyond my control, but it makes up a large part of who I am today. Snape told me that I would never have to sleep alone again if I didn't want to, and showed me how he didn't fit into the cupboard so it was completely inappropriate to attempt to turn it into a bedroom._

_[A]: The next time I got yelled at was when he caught me in the bathroom cutting all my hair off with a pair of scissors. See, he'd stopped calling me 'child' and started using my name, but the only other names I knew were mine were 'boy' and 'freak', so when he called me Harry, I heard it as Hairy H-A-I-R-Y, so I tried to make myself acceptable. For him. I wanted his approval so much that I probably would have gone back into the cupboard if he wanted me to. That's when 'child' became 'idiot child'. It took us a couple of weeks to sort that mess._

_[A]: During that summer, Snape spent a lot of time broadening my world view to include more than the spaces underneath tables and desks. Having discovered I possessed a small but working vocabulary, he set out to expand it, and read to me constantly. He never did anything without telling me what he was doing, whether it was bathing me, feeding me, brushing my hair, going downstairs, fixing tea. No matter how ordinary, he told me what he was doing and why he was doing it. I think somewhere around my fifth birthday I went outside for the first time, just to the back garden, but it was a huge milestone for both of us. That was when I told him I was going to marry him when I was bigger. He was, and still is, my everything, the one person on earth who I trust completely._

_[Q]: He says you were nearly six._

_[A]: Hmm. Maybe I was. I do know we were in the back garden, though. Doesn't change anything. Life got complicated when I reached school age. By then he was Head of Slytherin House and we had to live at Hogwarts, but I Floo'ed every morning and every evening to and from Spinner's End. Our next door neighbour, Parma, walked me to school and back every day. I was what they called a 'latch-key' kid, but she watched out for me. Since we were the neighbourhood weirdoes, I didn't have any friends, but that was fine by me. Snape's social skills are, well—_

_[Q]: He doesn't have any._

_[A]: *laughing* Yeah, that about sums it up. I wasn't going to learn how to be popular from watching him. Anyway, he made sure I knew how and why my parents died and I grew up knowing that one day Voldemort would return and come looking for me._

_[A]: Hogwarts was the best and worst thing that ever happened to me. Even though I lived most of the year at Hogwarts, I really didn't know anything about magic because I was rarely out of our rooms there, at least once I started primary school. I had meals at Spinner's End and slept in the dungeons. I guess that was part of the deal Snape made with Dumbledore about him raising me. I was to be kept sheltered from the magical world, but Snape wasn't going to keep me ignorant of my history. So I knew of his involvement with the Death Eaters at a really early point._

_[A]: Let me just say that Snape and Dumbledore disagreed about almost all of my magical education. No one, absolutely no one could know Snape was my guardian. I was to tell anyone who asked that I had been raised in the Muggle world by my relatives—the same ones who'd tried to kill me when I was four. Trust me, it wasn't hard to expand on the truth a little. All the detentions Snape gave me were excuses to meet, so he could see for himself how I was doing and assure me that he would always protect me and keep me safe. "I know you will. Love you." I said that to him every time._

_*silence*_

Tonks watched as the innocence fell from Harry's eyes and the knowledge of horrors both seen and unseen crept back in. She couldn't begin to imagine his worst memory, wondered if he would be able to choose only one, and once again, she couldn't help but think the Ministry was making yet another mistake in their long history of making mistakes when it came to Harry Potter.

_[Q]: All finished, Harry?_

_[A]: Nearly. The night of the Third Task is when I knew for certain that I was in love with Sev...Snape. The graveyard, well, everyone knows what happened there, and that I made it back to Hogwarts with Cedric's body. That Crouch tried to kill me, but Snape and Dumbledore got there before he could finish the job. Then Snape was summoned and it was hours before he got back._

_[A]: By then I was in the Hospital Wing. Pomfrey tried to sedate me but it didn't work because I was too nervous about Severus. It was nearly dawn before he was back at Hogwarts and he came to see me before he reported back to Dumbledore. He wept when he held me and I couldn't stop crying. Everyone thought it was because of Voldemort and Cedric, but it was because I was so afraid I'd never see Severus again and it was tearing me apart._

_[A]: The only time I feel like I can let down my guard and be Harry is when I'm with him, and I don't understand why the Wizarding World wants to take that away from me. I don't owe them anything. Rather, they owe me, don't you think? I would give up everything—the accolades I never wanted, the fame I never deserved, the adoration that seems to follow me wherever I go - if it means I can have a quiet life with Severus._

_[A]: Do you know why my uncle shoved half a dozen toy soldiers up my arse?_

_[Q]: No._

_[A]: My cousin had swallowed one and my aunt and uncle were in a panic. Whilst they were screaming and shouting and carrying on because they thought their little Duddikins was going to die, I was singing to the spiders in my cupboard. Singing. My uncle thought I was laughing and wanted to give me something to laugh about. He beat me half to death and stuffed the toys up my arse so I'd know what it felt like when Dudley eventually passed the one he ate. They dumped me in a creek on the way to the A &E Centre where my cousin was to be treated. Pomfrey thought I might have survived for another five or ten minutes at best when Severus found me._

_[A]: Do you know how I know all that?_

_[Q]: I can only assume Snape told you._

_[A]: He pensieved my memories and his as well and when I was old enough, we watched them together so I would understand that I was in no way responsible for what happened to me. It put my nightmares in context and helped me heal. By my count I owe him eleven life debts. How many years in Azkaban is that worth?_

_[A]: We're done._

_[Q]: We're off the record._

Tonks mopped the tears off her cheeks as Harry strode out of the interview room and began to draft her letter of resignation. Perhaps one day she would even submit it.

~*~

"Is everything ready?" Harry asked as he stepped out of the Floo and into Severus' waiting arms.

The ten days since Harry's interview had been among the most stressful of their lives, worse in some ways than the endless war with Voldemort. The _Daily Prophet_ had been relentless in their condemnation of Severus, though Harry was far from blameless himself. Once the details from Harry's interview with Tonks leaked, the public began to call for both their heads.

Based on a single sentence from Severus' testimony, the Wizengamot decided to charge him with sixty-five counts of "regular and habitual sexual abuse of such a nature as to shock and dismay the wizarding world.” They had tacked on additional charges of immorality and indecency as well, but declined to charge Harry "as recompense for ridding the world of You-Know-Who".

As facts became known and rumour became fact, most of Gryffindor House turned against Harry, though Neville and Colin Creevey had remained steadfast in their support of him. In a blazing row filled with curses, hexes and harsh accusations, Ron had tried to evict him from their dormitory, but Seamus and Neville wouldn't hear of it.

Severus hadn't fared well with his Slytherins, but since he was **Severus Snape** , with all that implied, none of them had dared move against him. Not overtly anyway, though he found their misguided attempts to assassinate his character amusing.

Pulling Harry hard against him, Severus captured his lips in a demanding kiss, his tongue plunging deeply into Harry's mouth, claiming him once again. "Yes, I believe so," he said roughly as their lips parted. "I must ask you once again—"

"Shh," replied Harry, his green eyes soft on Severus' face. "You know I do. I'm just worried about the wards. We'll not escape if they've been changed."

Everything hinged on that one fact. Despite McGonagall's possession of Severus's official wand, the Ministry still regarded Severus as a flight risk and Harry was being followed everywhere he went. Only Neville and Luna's assistance had allowed him this brief respite at the home they'd soon be occupying. That and a couple of doses of Polyjuice Potion.

"The wards have not been changed," Severus assured him. "To change the wards at Hogwarts requires the cooperation of the Heads of House and as I'm still holding the wards for the dungeons, they cannot change them without me."

"In that case, let's do this." Disentangling himself from Severus's arms, Harry walked over to the top of the spiral stairs that led to the basement where they had outfitted a full potions laboratory. He paused halfway down, admiring the spacious living room that seemed to flow into the surrounding woods. Tall floor-to-ceiling windows in nearly every room brought the outdoors into their home and filled it with warm natural light. Enchanted lighting recessed into the ceilings washed each room in soft light during the evening hours, turning them into a cosy nest.

Bounding down the stairs, Harry stretched out on a narrow padded bench Severus had transfigured out of a small workbench. His deep green eyes were fixed on the lowest step, and he smiled as a booted foot landed on it. "Think we have enough?"

As he removed his dark robes, Severus' dark eyes swept over the expansive collection of jugs, bottles, jars and carafes filled with muddy fluid the consistency of molasses. There were over fifty of the things, all filled, sealed and held under a powerful stasis charm to preserve the contents. "You ask me this every single time. Do you not trust me?"

Harry came to his feet and stood before Severus. "I wish you wouldn't think that. You know I do, completely. Has it ever crossed your mind that the reason I ask is because I want to get this done? I want this, Severus, so much."

Harry's eyes pleaded and Severus knew he was lost. "As do I, love. Where would you like it this time?" Stepping to the workbench, he extracted a length of rubber tubing from a drawer under the work surface, a syringe, plastic tubing and a sterile jar from a cupboard over the counter.

"Ankle?" Harry suggested as he lay back down. Experimentation had taught them that the Muggle method for taking blood was easier than the process used by the wizarding world. Of course, there were few reasons to extract blood a pint at a time, unless one were dabbling in the Dark Arts, which they most definitely were. Slicing through Harry's palm was a most inefficient way of getting the quantities they needed.

"Very well." A wave of Severus' wand had Harry naked in seconds. "I want you to start touching yourself whilst I make the necessary preparations." As Harry's hand began to move slowly over the length of his cock, teasing it to full hardness, Severus' eyes gleamed.

Tapping a cupboard door with his wand, he pulled out several pieces of dark green leather and several lengths of chain. He interrupted Harry briefly to buckle cuffs around Harry's slender wrists and when Severus fastened the collar around his neck, Harry moaned.

"Please, Sev. Please."

The throb in Harry's voice nearly undid him and Severus worked quickly, tying the length of rubber tightly around Harry's thigh. "Keep stroking yourself," he ordered brusquely as he swabbed Harry's ankle. He slid the needle into the vein, untied the tourniquet and let the blood flow into the jar. Once all was arranged to his liking, he moved around to stand at the head of the bed and pulled Harry's arms up over his head, fastening the cuffs together and running a length of chain from them to the legs of the bench.

Laid out like an offering, hands secured over his head, cock hard and leaking, Harry was a vision that would whet the appetites of the most pious of saints—which Severus would never be. Giving the jar a quick glance, he moved to the foot of the bench and stared at the feast before him as if deciding where to start.

Moving his free foot, Harry parted his legs, shivering as he caught sight of Severus' smouldering gaze, his flesh pebbling under the intensity of it. They'd learnt that, start to finish, it took roughly ten minutes to fill the jar with Harry's blood and Severus had become a master at bringing Harry off just before time (and space) ran out.

Kneeling at the end of the short bench, Severus began to lick the inside of Harry's thighs, little kitten licks that tormented and teased. As his tongue touched higher and higher, Harry began mewling and whimpering. "No shouting the house down this time," he instructed brusquely before sucking a ball into his mouth.

Harry's whimpers turned to needy moans and he tried to reach down to bury his fingers in Severus' hair, but merely pulled on the chains instead as Severus knew he would. The boy was utterly predictable and Harry's cock gave a mighty twitch as the chains rattled. Licking his way up the shaft, Severus drew the head between his lips and tongued around the foreskin, sucking hard when Harry's hips came off the bench.

Keeping one hand wrapped firmly around the shaft, Severus's other hand snaked up Harry's body, his fingernails scratching lightly over fair skin as he sought one of Harry's nipples. As he hollowed his cheeks, he flicked and teased the nub into hardness, then pinched it hard.

Harry howled and pulled on his restraints, his hips thrusting upwards as he tried to bury more of himself in the heat of Severus' mouth. "Yes yes yes yes," he chanted as his spine arched.

Curling his forearm up, Severus draped it across Harry's hips, immobilising him further. "What did I say about screaming?" he growled after pulling off long enough to spear Harry with a hard glance.

"Not...to shout...the house...down," panted Harry as he tried again to reach for Severus. "Please, Sir, please. Don't stop. Please. I'm sorry. Please."

Giving the jar another quick look—almost two-thirds full now—Severus drew Harry's full length into his mouth, swallowing around the head as a low rumbling purr began deep in his throat. He sucked and used his tongue to tease and torment and taste as Harry fell to pieces under him. He was rewarded by a thick stream of come sliding down the back of his throat as Harry went rigid in the rictus of orgasm.

Sucking gently as Harry's cock softened in his mouth, Severus purred with contented satisfaction. Had he ten lifetimes to live, he would never tire of the sweetness of Harry. Drawing back with regret, he picked up his wand and extracted the needle from the vein in Harry's ankle. A tiny charm saw the puncture closed and healed, and he undid the restraints and put them away.

"When must you return to Hogwarts?" he asked as he pressed a phial of Blood Replenisher into Harry's hand and helped him sit up. Sitting down on the bench next to him, Severus wrapped his arm around Harry's shoulders and nuzzled against his hair when Harry leaned into him.

Draining the contents in one swallow, Harry waited for his head to clear before he answered. An orgasm during a blood draw always left him feeling a bit woolly. "Neville had two doses of Polyjuice just in case I had trouble sneaking back in from Hogsmeade, so I have a bit of time yet. What about you?" 

"Go to the Hog's Head and Floo to my rooms," instructed Severus softly. "From there it's just a matter of getting out of the dungeons. I'll follow when I can. Don't wait for me, all right?"

Harry nodded, downcast. "One more week, Sev, and we're free." His deep green eyes searched Severus' face. "Promise me that if the Ministry or the Aurors show up at school that you'll come here straight away." He looked away and swallowed convulsively as the reality of their situation slammed into him yet again. "I can't live without you, Sev. I can't."

"Minerva is certain the Ministry won't act until Friday night at the earliest," Severus assured Harry as he dressed. "By then, I will be here, safe from the Aurors and the Wizengamot both and well beyond their reach." He flicked the tip of his wand and retrieved Harry's clothes. "Keep to the plan and don't involve the others unless absolutely necessary. How are you getting back?"

"Flooing to Xenophilius', then Apparating from there to Hogsmeade. It's a bit of a jump, but I can make it. Then from the Hog's Head to your quarters. The tricky part is Hogsmeade. I'd rather not Polyjuice myself if I don't have to." Aurors were stationed all over the village in the off-chance Severus and Harry decided to make an escape attempt. Since they couldn't Apparate from Hogwarts, they'd have to make the jump from outside the gates. "There's always the passage from Honeydukes or the tunnel from the Shrieking Shack, but I suspect they're being watched."

"I believe you are correct. Leave a sign for me so I'll know you're safe," Severus said as he came to his feet. He pulled Harry close, tilted his face up and gazed deep into his eyes. "Be cautious, pet. Remember Moody's words." He gave Harry a long, gentle kiss, then sent him up the stairs, his eyes following Harry's every move. As he pulled out the ingredients he would require for the potion, he heard the roar of the Floo and Harry's voice calling out his destination.

~*~

The 'escape' from Hogwarts proved to be so effortless and so anticlimactic that Severus was immediately suspicious. Immediately after proctoring his last examination as a Hogwarts Professor, Severus walked down to his rooms in the dungeon and met Aurora Sinistra at his door. As the new Head of Slytherin House, she would be moving into his quarters as soon as they were vacated, a chore Dobby had been working on for nearly a fortnight.

"Good luck, Severus," she murmured in her low, musical voice. "And my kindest regards to Harry." She gazed at him steadily with her warm brown eyes. "You do not deserve this treatment. Because of that, I am willing to testify on your behalf."

Opening the door, Severus invited her into the bare rooms. "I thank you, but I trust that it will not become necessary. We have broken no laws and they know it. After I depart, remember to disconnect the Floo from the network. Are you ready to accept the wards?"

Sinistra gave a regal nod of her head. "First, I must say this. Being homosexual is not immoral, Severus. I do not stand with the Wizengamot, nor with those who believe you and Harry do not deserve love." When Severus merely looked at her and said nothing she sighed. "I am ready."

The transfer of power took seven drops of blood from both of them and a lengthy incantation they recited together. When it was done, Severus took a deep breath, feeling freer than he had done in his entire life. "Let me show you the rooms, then I shall depart."

He gazed around, assailed by a thousand memories, most of them filled with Harry. Over by the fireplace were the marks on the wall that tracked Harry's growth. The desk where Harry felt comfortable enough to hide under stood there by the door. The scorch marks on the ceiling in the next room came from one of Harry's earliest attempts at potion making. So much of his life had taken place in these rooms that it was proving harder than he thought to leave.

"Take your leave, Severus," she said in her warm voice. "They are but rooms. Tomorrow they shall have forgotten you. By Monday they will not know you were ever here."

His long legs eating the distance in three strides, Severus took a handful of Floo powder from its container on the mantel. He turned to look at her, the first female Head of Slytherin in over a century. "Slytherin House is in good hands," he stated. Tossing the Floo powder into the fireplace, he called, "The Three Broomsticks," stepped into the emerald flames and vanished without another word.

He stepped out of the Floo and glanced hurriedly around, looking for Aurors or people from Hogwarts. Spotting none (and feeling very uneasy about it), he quickly cast a Disillusionment charm and a Notice-Me-Not spell over himself and walked calmly out of the Inn without a word to anybody. It was a short walk from there to the Hog's Head where Aberforth was waiting.

"I reckon you got away clean, then," said Aberforth, hurrying Severus inside. "Your boy's in back, nursing a Butterbeer and fretting. Ball of nerves, he is. Says he just walked right through the gates without a 'nary you mind' to anyone."

The innkeeper, a good friend to Severus for over twenty years, was one of roughly half a dozen folk who knew where they were going, but as their house was under a Fidelius charm and the land itself was unplottable, it was unlikely they'd be found. "In back with you, then. Harry, he's here."

A blur of black flew into Severus' arms, and as he wrapped his arms around Harry, Severus was aware how much the boy was trembling. "Sinistra's closed the Floo behind us," he murmured against Harry's messy black hair. "There were no Aurors at the Three Broomsticks and Dobby has removed my belongings from Hogwarts. Has Hedwig flown?"

Harry nodded. "She left the owlery as I passed through the gates." He tilted his head back to look directly at Severus. "I don't like this, Sev. It was too easy to just leave, but I can't think where they've laid a trap. Can they have jinxed the Floo so it will send us to the Ministry instead?"

It was a valid point, but Severus thought for a moment before shaking his head. "No, but they might be watching it for a double signature. They're probably thinking I'd send you ahead and follow right behind. The second Floo is the one they'd divert. We will stay with the plan."

"I don't want to be separated from you," said Harry, his words muffled as he burrowed his face in Severus' robes.

"It's only for a short time and I do not wish to risk having you Splinch yourself trying to Apparate from here. Nor do I wish to risk both our skin in an ill-conceived attempt at Side-Along. It's over three hundred miles."

"Sev, it's farther than that from the Lovegoods' to Hogsmeade," replied Harry with a bit of a smile.

"Which is why you're taking the Floo from here to Diagon Alley, then Apparating to Xenophilius'." As Harry opened his mouth, Severus tapped him on the nose. "Don't argue. It's wearisome. We stay with the plan. Do try to be seen at the Apparition point. It will divert the Aurors, so they'll start their search in London."

"You'd think they'd know we can Apparate further than into Muggle London," sniffed Harry, almost insulted by the Ministry-approved regulations governing Apparition and Disapparition, but as Severus so often reminded him, they were written for the average witch or wizard, not for Harry Potter and certainly not for Severus Snape.

"Kingsley does," said Severus sharply, "as do Moody and Tonks. Do not underestimate them."

"I don't."

Severus' voice gentled. "Are you ready, love?" 

Harry squared his shoulders and nodded. So much of this depended on timing. "I'm ready." He gave Severus a kiss, then another and another just for luck. "Be careful, all right? Just be seen by someone who will notify the Ministry. No more than that." He gave Severus a rueful smile. "Don't play the hero. You're not Gryffindor enough." Tossing some Floo powder into the fireplace, he called out, "Diagon Alley," and stepped inside. The last thing he saw before spinning away was the gleam of Severus' eyes.

"Insufferable brat," Severus murmured fondly as his heart clenched with fear. The moment Harry vanished was the moment the what-ifs started. So much could go wrong and things were off to a good start. Too good. It was nerve wracking, but he wondered if they had Minerva to thank.

Stretching out his senses and allowing his face to fall into impassive lines, Severus stepped out into the common room of the Hog's Head, his lightweight black robes swirling around him as he moved with quiet grace towards the front door. As usual, there was little foot traffic; the Hog's Head was several blocks from the high street.

Slipping into the narrow path between two buildings, he wove his way towards Dervish & Banges, entering the high street near the end. No sooner had he set foot on the cobblestone walkway than a voice cried out.

"Oi! It's Snape! After him, lads. He's not supposed to be outside the castle!"

Snape's head turned sharply and he immediately spotted three members of the Auror Corps running towards them, wands in hand. He sprinted across the broad avenue and dove into an alley that ran parallel to Hogsmeade Road, taking the first passage to the right that he could find as he tried to lose them. Being captured did not factor into their plans at all.

Ducking down behind a rain barrel, Severus cast a Caterwauling Charm across the mouth of the passageway, then dashed a few buildings down to hide behind a shed to get his bearings. Perhaps it was time to Apparate, assuming the Aurors hadn't had time to cast any Anti-Disapparition charms over the narrow alley.

Taking a few steps back, he crept along the tiny path until he came to an opening between two houses. Glancing around quickly, keeping a sharp eye peeled for the unexpected witch or wizard out tending their garden, he crawled on hands and knees between the buildings and came to an abrupt halt when a pair of black clad legs materialised in front of him.

He looked up and blinked, then rose to his feet, utterly perplexed as he came face to face with...himself.

"I'm not doing this for you," his doppelganger sneered as a skunk-stripe of bubblegum pink appeared for an instant down the centre of his head. "I'm doing this for Harry. Where are you going?"

Finding it more difficult than he expected to read his own tone and facial expressions, Severus paused as his mind whirled, recalling everything he knew about Nymphadora Tonks. "The plan was to be seen by someone who would report having seen me to the Ministry, then Apparate."

Tonks nodded. "Consider the plan fulfilled. I'll distract the rest of the Aurors whilst you get the hell out of here. If I hear you've caused Harry any pain, I'll hunt you down and, well, I'll probably end up in St. Mungo's for a few months, but it's the thought that counts. Go, Snape. Now."

It was disconcerting to talk to himself and hear words he would never utter come out of his mouth, and he had the brief notion that this scenario should be part of N.E.W.T. Defence Against the Dark Arts courses. Surely it wasn't every day one came across oneself.

"Tell me why and I'll go," Severus said brusquely.

Cold black eyes narrowed and Snape's face hardened. "Because the idiot fancies himself in love with you, and Merlin knows Harry has earned the right to be happy."

Severus' face softened and he allowed the tiniest morsel of what he felt for Harry to shine through. "No, he _is_ in love with me—and I with him. Good-bye Tonks and good luck." Turning sharply on his booted heel, he vanished with a sharp crack, the sound hidden under the sudden screaming from the Caterwauling Charm.

Severus Disapparated inside their home to find Harry preparing tea, his hands shaking so hard he could barely fill the kettle. "Harry. Pet. It's over. We're free." He stepped behind the boy and wrapped his arms around him, nuzzling his hair.

Tension washed out of Harry the moment he was enveloped in loving arms. "Did you run into any trouble? Do you know who might have spotted you?" he asked as he charmed a fire under the kettle. Some things were still best if done by hand.

"Several Aurors for one. Tonks for another. She's rather fond of you and came to my aid." He kissed the spot behind Harry's ear that made him melt. "By now, the Ministry are most likely aware we've fled and are searching for us. Were you seen?"

Turning easily within the circle of Severus' arms, Harry pressed his full length against his beloved's body, draping his arms around Severus' neck. "Yeah, by no less than Scrimgeour himself. I waved to him as I Apparated. He was not best pleased."

"I imagine not," Severus replied against Harry's lips, claiming them in a hungry kiss. Like the petals of a new flower, Harry's lips parted under his own and he stroked the velvety softness of Harry's lips with his tongue before mapping the inside of Harry's mouth. "Now to get you out of those wretched Gryffindor robes. Tonight we burn them all."

"Day after tomorrow, Sev," Harry replied in a throaty voice. "Then I belong to you, never to be parted." He took a step back and with trembling fingers removed his House tie before presenting it formally to Severus. "It's yours." He repeated the process with every article of clothing on his body until he was standing naked before Severus, the kettle whistling loudly behind him. The only items he still possessed were his glasses and his wand.

Taking Harry's clothes, Severus Banished his pet's shoes, then piled everything in a heap. " _Incendio_ ," he murmured with a swish of his wand. Harry's clothes went up in a burst of flame, devoured almost instantly and leaving nothing behind except a small pile of ash. "Serve our tea in the living room where we will review everything for Sunday, then I want your mouth."

Quickly assembling a tray filled with tea and an assortment of finger sandwiches, Harry levitated it to the small table near Severus' chair, then knelt quietly at his soon-to-be Master's feet, hands clasped lightly behind his back, knees well apart to display his needy cock to its full advantage.

Long elegant fingers prepared two cups and handed one down to Harry. "We have approximately sixty gallons of potion prepared. The moment of solstice is at ten a.m. Sunday and that is when the final spell must be cast. I must ask once again: do you fully understand the ramifications of this? This cannot be undone by any means."

Harry turned clear green eyes on Severus. "Are you prepared to keep your end of the bargain?"

"With all my heart."

"Then yes, I understand and I am prepared." Harry sipped his tea. "Six people in the world can find us, all of whom are under Fidelius. The Secret Keeper cannot speak so there is no danger of being inadvertently discovered. The land is unplottable and the house is charmed so that it never appears to be in the same place twice. The wizarding world turned its back on me when they decided to charge you with assaulting me. I have no problem turning my back on them in return. I owe them nothing."

"What about your friends?"

"Who? Ron and Hermione?"

Severus nodded once. "That is who I meant, yes."

Harry's eyes grew hard. "Ron stopped being my friend the moment he sent that owl to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Hermione should never have told him what she saw. What's more, she knew that. Ron has never trusted you, not even after I killed Voldemort. He blames you for Ginny and Bill." His voice dropped to a whisper. "When it all came out, he called me a fucking fudge packer and said I was a whore. He said if he'd known I was bent, he'd have had me killed during that chess match in first year."

Face darkening with rage, Severus bit back the invective that rose to his lips. "Ronald Weasley wouldn't recognise an original thought if it entered his head. Are you saying he had no idea you're queer? What about his brother? Surely he knows about Charlie."

Harry shook his head. "No one did. Well, except for us and the Malfoys. I got an owl from him a couple of days ago, but I hadn't a chance to tell you. When the first article appeared in the _Prophet_ , Mrs Weasley turned on me about as fast as Ron did and sent me a note that said I was no longer welcome at The Burrow. Then she owled the rest of the family to tell them to stay away from me." He winced.

"That didn't go so well. As soon as Charlie got the note, he Flooed home to find out what was happening and I reckon things got a little heated. He told them that not only is he queer but that he and Draco have been in a relationship since my sixteenth birthday. I guess they met during the Triwizard Tournament, when Charlie brought the dragons from Romania, and corresponded until Draco was old enough to be legal. Mr Weasley disowned him for taking up with a Malfoy, and Molly ordered him out of the house for being a pervert."

"Harry, do not be asha—"

"I'm not!" replied Harry fiercely. "You taught me there was no reason to be. I'm sorry for Charlie and I'm upset that the Weasleys disowned me and Charlie both, and I'm very angry that they'd welcome me back if they knew, but I'm not ashamed of who and what I am."

"You've not told anybody?" exclaimed Severus.

"No one. You and Poppy are the only ones who know, and I plan to keep it that way for as long as I can."

"Then I will keep your secret as well." Severus set down his empty teacup and licked the crumbs from the sandwiches he'd been nibbling off his fingers. "Eat, then I want your mouth."

As Harry gobbled down the first meal he'd had since breakfast, Severus walked through the ritual they would soon embark upon. They argued over the time Harry should begin and how long each step would take, but by the time the sandwiches were gone, they were both satisfied with the timeline.

Tray Banished to the kitchen where Dobby would do the washing up, Harry removed his glasses and handed Severus his wand, leaving himself vulnerable to one of the most powerful wizards alive. He crawled between Severus' parted thighs and knelt, looking up and meeting the smouldering gaze of the man to whom he would soon be bound. "How might I serve you?" he asked, lowering his gaze respectfully.

This was Harry in his element: soft, pliant, determined to please. It had taken Severus months to come to accept that Harry's innate submissiveness was not the product of his time at the Dursleys, and the pair had spent hours upon hours discussing it. However, when Harry had brought him the text of the most binding spell he could find, Severus began to take him seriously. 

"I want you to take me out and get me hard. Then I shall fuck your pretty mouth. After that, you will shower and prepare yourself for me. Once I've fucked your delightful arse into tomorrow, you will go to sleep." Severus' eyes glinted. "As will I."

Drawing in a sharp breath, Harry nodded as his eyes darkened and his cock filled. Being used for Severus' pleasure fulfilled him like nothing else. "Give you my mouth, give you my arse, go to sleep. As you wish."

Trembling fingers unfastened his flies and when Harry reached inside to wrap his fingers around his cock, Severus inhaled sharply. Long and thick, it had taken Harry weeks to learn how to accept the entire length into his mouth, but he'd been patient as the boy tried again and again.

Sliding forward on the seat, Severus moaned softly as Harry teased lightly at the foreskin and licked around the shaft. He lifted his hips as Harry dipped his hand into Severus' pants to deftly roll his balls between his fingers. "Yes," he hissed, his legs falling open to give the boy more room.

As his cock grew hard, the head peeping out from the foreskin, he shivered as Harry's agile tongue swiped over the slit and then swirled around the head. His fingers slid into Harry's messy hair, tightening into fists as shivers ran up and down his spine. It was all he could do not to thrust deep into Harry's mouth when the boy's eyelashes fluttered as he moaned.

It was exquisite torture to watch his cock disappear into Harry's mouth, see those perfect lips stretched around him and Severus forced himself to remain still for the moment. He watched Harry's cheeks hollow as he drew back, holding the tip in his mouth as he continued to suck. The moment Harry's hips began to rock of their own volition, Severus held the boy's head tight and began to thrust deep into Harry's mouth. Long, hard strokes in and out of that sultry cavern, Harry's lips tight around him, had him spilling down Harry's throat with a sharp cry in minutes.

Growling with pleasure, Severus could not look away as Harry suckled and swallowed, his tongue rubbing along the shaft, ensuring that not a single drop remained. Heavy-lidded green eyes gazed up at him, still holding his cock deep in his mouth as though tempting him to remain there. "You are beautiful," Severus whispered as he released his hold on Harry's head, and to his delight, Harry blushed.

Pulling Harry into his lap, Severus kissed him, tasting himself in Harry's mouth. His long fingers played over Harry's cock until Harry whimpered and moaned as he tried to thrust into Severus' hand. "No, pet. Not tonight. Not for a very long time, if ever."

"Ever?" Harry breathed, his body shuddering from head to toe as a sharp thrill ran through him. He drew in a long series of ragged breaths as he tried to control himself. "Merlin, you can't just spring that on me."

"On the contrary, pet," replied Severus with a wicked half-grin. "I can do with you whatever I please."

~*~

Three o'clock in the morning came early and after he stumbled to their bathroom, Harry took a moment to examine himself in the mirror. Teeth marks covered his body and where he wasn't bruised from being bitten, he was marked with love bites. "May as well have been the main course at a Veela banquet," he murmured contentedly as he washed his face.

He stretched and finished his ablutions before heading downstairs to have yoghurt and a quick cup of tea before he began his day's labours. The work ahead would be arduous, but the end result would be well-worth all their efforts.

The plan had been conceived well over a year ago and refined during the interim. It had taken that long to find the land, build the house, brew the extraordinary amount of potion required, and cast all the necessary wards and spells to keep them safely hidden. During their preparations, their secret became known to a select few individuals, all of whom had sworn an Unbreakable Vow to safeguard their privacy.

It was an odd group of individuals, none fully trusted by the whole, but somehow Lucius and Draco Malfoy, Poppy Pomfrey, Charlie Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Aberforth Dumbledore, and the Lovegoods had become their de facto family. All had lent their considerable talents to the undertaking and pledged their wands and fortunes to ensuring Harry and Severus' happiness.

Finishing his light breakfast, Harry went down into Severus' workshop, smiling when he saw two jars of potion set out with a note propped in between them.

_My Harry,_

_I know today will be long, but know that I will do everything in my power to assist you. I have the utmost faith in your determination to see it through. Water has been set out at regular intervals, and you will find that potions will appear as required._

_Should you change your mind, please understand that your decision to do so will change nothing between us. One does not depend on the other. You are, and shall remain, mine._

_Severus_

Smiling at all the words left unsaid, Harry pressed the note to his lips and laid it on the table. Tucking both jars under his arms, he set out into the dark to the northernmost point of their property. Picking his way along the narrow path, keeping the narrow crescent of the setting moon on his left, he finally found the marker Severus had laid out for him.

Relieved, he dropped to his knees and put his nose near the ground to find the tiny furrow dug into the ground along the boundary of their land. Wandless, with his glasses on the bedside table, Harry felt very alone out here in the dark. Removing the lid from one of the jars, he moulded himself into a proper kneeling position and began to stroke himself. "This isn't for you, Sev. This is for me," he murmured as he grew hard.

Even without coming last night, it took longer than Harry expected to get himself off. It was cold and damp, a typical Irish summer night, he was naked and kneeling in a place he did not know well and it wasn't hard to imagine eyes watching him through the trees. Finally, though, he spilled into his hand and allowed his come to dribble into the furrow. Finding the sharp point on the lid, he sliced open his palm, placed his hand over the spot where his semen was soaking into the earth and chanted the incantation Severus had taught him.

Allowing three drops of blood to drip into the jar, Harry picked it up and began to pour a very thin stream into the narrow groove. He moved down a bit and continued to pour, making sure to keep a connected line as the muddy potion sank into the ground.

This was to be his morning, forming an unbroken line of the potion he and Severus had spent months creating all the way around their property. If he missed so much as a millimetre, the ritual would fail and they'd have to wait until the winter solstice to try again. Harry was not enthused about the idea of crawling the mile and a half along their property line in the dead of winter.

The potion consisted of as much of Harry as they could safely collect: blood, urine, semen, nail clippings, sweat, even skin when available. There was syrup of Hellebore and basilisk venom, stinksap and essence of dittany, plus a few things Harry couldn't identify—and was pretty sure he didn't want to. The only saving grace, given that the potion itself reeked, was that he didn't have to drink it.

It wasn't long before Harry's back and knees began to ache and a headache started to develop from squinting at the ground. He ran out of potion before he'd gone fifty yards and it was then that he realised just how demanding the task would be. He sat back on his feet and rubbed his back before uncapping the second jar. Reopening the wound in his palm, he allowed three drops of blood to fall before starting his work again.

As he started to pour, the empty jar began to fill and he smiled to himself as he wondered what kind of magic it took to send a potion to an empty jar when one could only guess where the empty jar would be. It came as no surprise to him that Severus was the sort of wizard who could work such magic.

By the time Harry completed the circle (which was actually a rough rectangle) around their land, he was tired, hungry and sore. His hands were aching from the cuts on his palms, his knees were torn to shreds. There were a few patches of skin that had somehow managed to remain clean, but he had no idea how. As he struggled to come to his feet, he let out a loud moan as every muscle in his body screamed in protest. At least the next part would be easier, though he had to hurry if he wanted to be done by 9:30.

Picking up the next jar, his muscles as firm as cooked spaghetti, Harry poured a thin trickle of potion out at the first marker and started walking south. Unlike the boundary line, this line could squiggle and break. The only requirement was that the potion hit the ground. Having it wind up splattered on a tree trunk or running down a plant stem was not sufficient, so Harry scrabbled around plants and walked around trees as he poured, hoping he was heading something close to south.

He was in luck. The southern marker was only a couple of yards to his right, so he connected the line to the boundary he'd already drawn. Setting down both jugs, he took a long satisfying drink of water, then gazed around. The land was hilly and well forested, except for a small meadow near the house. That was where they'd grow herbs for the kitchen and Severus' potions.

A small creek ran through their land, a feature which they both appreciated, but gave Harry a number of sleepless nights until they devised a way to deal with it. A tiny footbridge would serve their purpose, and once the spell was activated, the bridges could not so much be burned as destroyed.

Once the north-south line had been drawn, he needed to do the same for the east-west line. Taking the straightest path possible to the east marker, Harry glanced at the sky and started pouring again, taking just as much care with this line as he had with the others.

Though he passed quite close to it, Harry was relieved to find that their house did not sit on any of the lines. From the outside, the house did not appear imposing, certainly nothing like Malfoy Manor with its columns and formal gardens and white peacocks strutting about. This was wood and stone and glass, blending into its surroundings so well that it took the eye a moment to realise it was there. Two storeys with another level below ground, it was filled with light and warmth and an abundance of space. They had built it with one purpose in mind; their next task was to fill it.

Releasing a sigh of relief as he splashed the line closed, Harry set down his jars and walked back along the trail he'd made to the point where the lines intersected. He had done his part. Now it was up to Severus to do his and Harry felt a moment's concern that his lover would change his mind. He knelt at the centre point facing north, head bowed as much out of exhaustion as the deep regard in which he held his mate.

His pulse quickened as he heard footsteps behind him, yet Harry remained in place. This part of the ritual demanded his obedience and his silence. Harry would ensure that whoever watched over these things would have both. A familiar hand rested on his shoulder, and it was through force of will alone that he did not rub his head against Severus' arm. He was so very tired.

"Roll onto your back, your heart over the place where the lines intersect, your head to the north," Severus instructed as his eyes examined every inch of Harry's body. His poor boy was a mess and they still had much to do. Once Harry was flat on the ground, Severus had him lift his feet until his soles were straight up.

Severus set a knife in the palm of his hand and waved his wand in a complicated pattern over it. Taking Harry's left foot firmly in hand, he took a deep breath and carved a rune into the arch saying, " _Princeps obligatum es ad terrum,_ " Blood flowed freely, darkening the ground and Severus tried to keep the blood as close to the north-south axis line as possible.

Flinching as Severus took his right foot, Harry gritted his teeth as the blade once again sank deep into his foot and Severus repeated the spell. The runic marks burned and his feet throbbed, but they were not finished yet, not nearly. Tucking the pain into a corner of his mind, Harry turned over and knelt facing north in the manner in which he'd been taught: feet together, knees wide apart, weight resting solidly on his heels. His arms were behind him, his left wrist captured by his right hand, his head bowed.

The moment he settled in, Harry felt the searing fire of the silver blade sinking into his skin. He remained motionless as Severus inscribed a necklace of runes around his neck. With each character, Severus repeated the spell, _princeps obligatum es ad terrum_. Thou art bound to the land of Prince. Another set of runes were etched down his spine. The last set encircled his waist like a belt.

Feeling as though he'd been dipped in fire, Harry fought to remain perfectly still and perfectly silent. He had known what would happen and thought he'd prepared himself, but he underestimated how much each slash from the knife would hurt.

"Crawl back about five feet." This order came as a surprise and Harry very nearly lifted his eyes to see Severus' face. Catching himself in the nick of time, he scuttled backwards a bit, then crawled back a bit more, his heart leaping into double time as Severus excavated enough earth for a shallow grave.

_Not my place to question. Not my place to question._ But having no idea why Severus was deviating from the plan threw him into near panic. A jar of potion materialised near his right knee, and once Severus had removed the lid, he watched as Severus placed the blade in the path of a rivulet of blood until a small puddle formed. Three drops of blood were added to the jar, and Harry's eyes remained fixed on the deep depression as Severus poured the potion down its full length.

Jar in hand, Severus moved behind Harry and painted the bleeding soles of both feet with potion. The pain was horrific and Harry was certain the goo was eating his flesh. He held his breath as more of the thick brown potion covered the wounds on his neck and tears began to well in his eyes. His throat began to narrow and it became hard to breathe.

When Severus painted the potion down his back, Harry's body went numb and his muscles no longer felt responsive. He prayed he wouldn't be instructed to move again since he wasn't sure he could. Unfortunately the numbness did not lessen the pain at all and Harry was certain that his spine had become exposed to air. He tried to dig his fingernails into his wrist to distract himself from the intense fire in his back but his fingers refused to close. All he could do was bite his tongue.

As Severus covered the runes around his waist with more of the accursed potion, Harry caught a glimpse of his mate. Though tears clouded his vision and rained down his cheeks, he couldn't help but notice that Severus' face was grey, his lips pressed in a tight line and for a brief moment, Harry's pain lessened. Severus knew what this potion was doing and would take care of him.

A moment later, doubt entered his mind and took up residence there. Harry couldn't breathe, couldn't make his muscles draw air into his lungs, couldn't pull any air through his throat. He was suffocating! Panicked, he tried to open his mouth to shout for help, but his jaws wouldn't open. His vocal cords were paralysed as well and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make a sound.

Spots danced before his eyes and the edges of his vision began to fade. Heart hammering in his chest, he remained a picture of obeisance, head bowed in submission as he accepted his fate. He was about to die and there was nothing he could do about it. Severus, his Severus, the one person who had never betrayed his trust had murdered him instead. As the world went black, a bit of Harry died.

~*~

As the light in Harry's eyes faded and died, Severus prayed to every god he'd ever heard of that Harry would trust him once he had the chance to explain.

Using a levitation charm, Severus straightened Harry's arms and legs, tears running in rivers down his sallow cheeks. Even knowing that the potion and spell acted like Draught of Living Death, it tore at his heart to see Harry so still. Pausing as he unfolded the first length of linen, he paused near Harry's head and bent to whisper fiercely, "I love you with every fibre of my being. I would never willingly betray you, my Harry."

With shaking hands, Severus lovingly wrapped Harry's body in soft white cloth. Each leg and each arm were covered. Harry's fingers and toes were wrapped separately, then wrapped together. His arms were crossed over his chest, each hand at the opposing shoulder. Starting at his ankles, Severus pulled Harry's legs together and wound the cloth around and around and around.

The cloth was endless as were Severus' tears. As long as Severus wrapped, the cloth materialised until Harry resembled a human shaped cocoon, featureless and white. As Severus tapped the cloth with his wand, the layers of fabric merged together, encasing the boy completely. The three remaining jars of potion appeared at his feet and as Severus began to pour a thin stream over the shroud, Harry's body began to rotate as if it were on a spit.

Once the shroud looked as if it had been steeped in tea, Severus set the remaining potion down and stood at Harry's head. Placing his hand on either side of Harry's skull, he intoned in a harsh growl, " _Princeps obligatum es ad terrum." And please, please, please forgive me._ With his wand he lowered Harry into the grave, covered him with earth and redrew the lines with the dregs of the jar.

For the rest of the day and most of the night, Severus lingered at Harry's 'grave', saying all the things he'd never been able to tell Harry to his face. Silly things, tender things, secret things he'd never told a living soul. A part of him hoped Harry heard every word, another part prayed he couldn't.

Around two o'clock in the morning, Dobby finally persuaded Severus to come inside, eat a little something and try to sleep. A thick slice of warm bread, a wedge of cheese and a hot cup of tea served as his only meal and as he trudged up the stairs alone, Severus knew that if this hadn't worked, if he really had killed Harry, he'd just seen his last night sky.

Waking from fitful sleep a little after eight the next morning, Severus went absently through his morning ablutions and headed outside, Dobby following behind exhorting him to please have some tea. He took up his place at the junction of the lines and noticed they were glowing. Curious, he followed the north line to the marker and found the perimeter marked in Killing Curse green.

The sight did not soothe his jangled nerves.

Knowing Harry would want to know, assuming he ever decided to speak with Severus again, he walked the full boundary of their estate. Everywhere he looked, the line glowed brilliantly, a solid green line of death should Harry ever try to leave. He was proud, frightened and a bit disgusted by the power of their magic, but he soaked in the memory, determined to put it in a Pensieve for Harry to view should he ever wish to see evidence of his handiwork.

As the sun rose higher in the sky, the compass lines grew brighter and took on a golden hue that was markedly different from the perimeter. Upon reaching the intersection, Severus cast a lasting _Tempus_ and watched as time marched past. As the lines began to shimmer, he cleared away the dirt covering Harry's body and stood his form up on the centre point to face the sun.

Standing in the shimmering east line, feeling the depths of their magic coursing through him, Severus raised his wand, pointed it at Harry and thundered that thrice-damned incantation for the last time. " _Princeps obligatum es ad terrum!_ "

~*~

The wrappings fell away and Harry began to topple over as he gasped for breath, but Severus caught him well before he hit the ground. Scooping Harry into his arms, Severus headed for the house, clutching Harry tightly to his chest as he ran.

"You killed me," Harry said bleakly, his eyes filling with tears as he looked away. The sharp pang of betrayal stabbed his heart and he struggled weakly to escape Severus' arms to no avail. The man was too strong and Harry's body was not cooperating.

"I couldn't have," said Severus, his voice breaking. "You're here. You're alive." Stopping suddenly, he stared down at Harry. "You're alive." He fell to his knees sobbing harshly, a horrible keening sound like cracks in a dam straining not to crumble.

It was the worst sound Harry ever heard. Raising a hand visibly trembling with fright he rested his palm against Severus' cheek. "Talk to me," he rasped, his throat still tight from potion and grief. "I've never seen you like this. Not even when Albus died."

Severus lifted his head, spearing Harry with black eyes glittering with tears. "Albus is...was not you," he spat in a voice rough with anger and fear. "Albus is not the one to whom I have entrusted my heart. Albus is not the one with whom I will spend my life. And Albus is not the one who shares my bed. You are. What this ritual demanded of me nearly broke me. Never again, Harry. Not even for you."

Bewildered, Harry nodded his agreement. The ritual had been much more taxing than he'd been led to believe. "Bath, please. We can talk there."

With a sharp nod of acquiescence, Severus set Harry on his feet before coming to his own. At the first limping step Harry took, Severus took Harry into his arms and carried him up the stairs into the spacious bathroom that connected to their bedroom.

This room was no different from the rest of the house. Tall windows lined the exterior walls, letting light spill onto smooth beech wood floors. A long counter with two sinks lined one wall with a shower built from natural stone at the end. The toilet was tucked into a nook, affording a modicum of privacy. The enormous stone tub sat in an alcove overlooking the creek as it ran near their house with a meadow just beyond. It was a perfect place for relaxing.

Severus opened the taps wide. "Stay here," instructed Severus as he set Harry down on the ledge surrounding the tub.

Borrowing Severus' wand—it liked him almost as much as it liked Severus—Harry added a touch of vanilla and sandalwood to the water to ease Severus' mind. Once the water was at the right temperature, Harry rose to remove Severus' robes.

"Harry, sit," said Severus as he hung his robe on a nearby hook.

"But..."

"No buts. Get in. I shall join you presently."

Tired and filthy though he was, he dampened a flannel and poured soap that Severus had created into it as he waited at the edge of the tub for Severus to precede him. No matter how hard he tried, he could not push himself to go first. The moment Severus sat in the steaming water, Harry reached for his lover's arm to scrub it.

"No." Severus' hand shot up to encircle Harry's wrist. "Come in here."

Clinging to the flannel, Harry stepped gingerly into the tub and settled into the vee of Severus' legs. A moment later he was pulled back against Severus' chest and the cloth removed from his hand. Lying passively against him, Harry said nothing as Severus started to bathe him.

For a very long time, the only sounds were quiet splashes and the occasional hum or sharp intake of breath. The runes Severus had etched into his skin the day before now looked like tattoos, but though the skin had healed, they were surprisingly sensitive to the touch. Harry wondered when he would be able to put his full weight on his feet without wincing.

The silence grew thick, the tension increasing bit by bit until Harry began to grow restless. The only outward sign of his inner agitation was the constant clenching and unclenching of his hands as he debated whether to get out and go to bed.

"When you first proposed the notion of leaving Britain," said Severus quietly, "of placing yourself beyond the reach of the Ministry and their ceaseless invitations to this function or that, lending your name to the latest cause du jour, I truly understood your need to escape the fame you never wanted. And when you suggested tying yourself to the land—"

"Like a house-elf," Harry interrupted softly.

"So I said at the time. It was at once brilliant and terrifying. But you presented your arguments in a cogent manner, insisted you would never grow bored with our life and our surroundings. So against my better judgment, I agreed.

"I have never gone back on my word to you, but I came very close to doing so yesterday. I still have grave misgivings about what was required of me and had you not had your heart set on this, I would have reneged. Coupled with the Ministry's idiotic indictment, I believe you are, for the first time in your short life, completely safe from those who would do you harm."

To his own surprise, Harry's eyes swam with tears. "I thought you wanted me dead. I thought...I believed, honestly believed you were trying to kill me. Why? Even during fifth year I never felt as scared of you as I am right now."

Severus' voice hitched as he spoke. "You are afraid of me?"

Sitting up and pulling his knees up to his chest, Harry nodded before burying his face in his arms. His entire world had been shaken, pulled off its foundation the moment he realised that Severus was going to stand before him and watch him die at his hand.

Despite the heat from the water, Severus shivered. He drained the tub and got out, drying himself quickly and tossing his robe back on. "Harry, I'd like you to dry off, dress, and meet me downstairs. As much as I would like to explain, this is something you need to see for yourself."

Keeping his eyes averted, Harry nodded. "Give me a few minutes and I'll be down." There was no point in running; he couldn't escape. The protective wards they'd erected around the house were tied to Severus, so Harry couldn't even bar the door against him.

Limping over to the shower and leaving a trail of wet footprints behind, he dashed in long enough to wash his hair, crying out as his fingers ran over the runes around his neck. Maybe it was the magic settling. He didn't know, and nothing he'd read said it would hurt.

Once dressed, he found Severus sitting in the dining room, Albus' Pensieve set in the middle of the table. Next to it sat Harry's wand. As he hobbled over, Severus closed his eyes and sighed. "Forgive me. I should have realised your feet would still bother you. As I understand it, the runes will take a few days to mingle with your magic."

"You mean if I wanted to, I could leave?"

Blood drained from Severus' face. "No, I do not believe so," he said slowly, "but if you wish it, I will surrender myself to the Ministry and arrange to be taken to Azkaban."

Stricken, Harry stared at Severus as his face too went white. "Don't ever say that, even if you're having me on. I would never want to see you in Azkaban." They'd been here less than two full days and already they were starting to crumble, but Harry was determined to hear Severus out. "What did you want to show me?" he asked thickly.

"There are several memories I wish you to see, all of which have to do with that godforsaken ritual," said Severus, his voice brittle, almost cold. "I will place them in the Pensieve if you wish, or you may see them in place."

It was no small thing to be invited to invade Severus' mind, for with Legilimency came the emotions he'd experienced at the time the memories were created. Pensieves were excellent for capturing detail, but one often felt like one was watching moving pictures. Legilimency demanded both parties relive the events as they happened.

Picking up his wand, Harry's view shifted between it and the Pensieve as he debated with himself. Finally, he looked up and squared his shoulders. "I need to know," he whispered. "I need to know how it happened."

Severus dipped his head and closed his eyes and Harry knew he was organising his thoughts, pushing forward the memories Severus wanted him to experience. His dark eyes snapped open and locked on Harry's face. "I am ready."

_As Severus brewed the first potion, stirring as it simmered over the small fire, several lines of text shimmered into existence under the recipe._

 

At the moment of ritual, mark the runes of punishment upon the witch with the blade of a silver knife. To the potion add three drops of her blood. Paint her bleeding skin and cover her marks well that she might give up a piece of her soul unto the land.

Shroud her naked body with purest linen. Wrap each finger and toe. Bind her body as in the time of Pharaohs and anoint the cloth with that which thou hath breweth. Anoint also the grave and bury her body with her head to the rising sun.

Sayeth not that you are doing thus, that the witch might believeth these things and know she is to die. Excavate her body at solstice and if she doth live, the enchantments shall be upon her. Sayeth the spell to hold her forever.

 

_Dropping the stirrer, Snape snatched the text off the stand and drew it closer, reading and re-reading the glowing text. He set a timer and flipped frantically through the pages of the grimoire, looking for further explanation. The script that had appeared at the end of the recipe also appeared in several other places. Face darkening in anger, he stared in the direction of Gryffindor tower and swore vehemently, raging at Harry, at Voldemort, at the circumstances that led them down this path._

Snatches of memory appeared where Severus tried again and again to dissuade Harry from so drastic a step, but his young lover refused again and again, filling Severus with dread. Harry would have to believe he was being murdered without knowing why.

Memory spooled forward until Harry saw himself kneeling quietly. Severus paused, several yards away, heart thudding in his chest, the sharp metallic tang of bile filling his mouth. For a moment he was disgusted with himself. He, a former Death Eater, was revolted at the idea of carving runes into Harry's flesh and tricking him into thinking he was about to die.

But it was Harry, _his_ Harry, a person he'd come to cherish and that changed everything. He stood watching for a moment, scrubbed at his watery eyes with the heel of his hand and locked down his emotions behind a formidable wall of self-control.

By the time Severus was sitting next to Harry's grave, tears streaming down his usually impassive face, Harry had seen enough. He found himself on the floor, kneeling next to Severus, his face buried in Severus' midsection, sobbing. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry," he cried.

A reassuring hand smoothed over his head. "Shhh. You've nothing to be sorry for. I, on the other hand, beg your forgiveness, as I shall never forgive myself."

"You don't owe me an apology," Harry said fiercely, looking up, his green eyes blazing. "At the moment it counted, my trust failed. How can you forgive me? I don't deserve—"

"Not one more word," snarled Severus. "This is not about forgiveness or whether we deserve the things we have been given. This is about trust and betrayal of that trust in furtherance of a goal. That goal has been met, but to what end? Do you still love me, Harry?"

Eyes softening, deepening to their usual leaf green colour, Harry smiled. "It is most unlike you to ask foolish questions. I've been yours since the very beginning and will be yours until the day I die."

Severus' brow furrowed. "It is one thing to be mine, quite another to love me. Do you still love me?"

"Yes," Harry said soberly. "Now and for all time. I love you, Severus."

Encouraging Harry into his lap, Severus kissed Harry as though their very lives depended on it. "I love you as well, minx. Never doubt that. Food and bed, where I plan to shag you senseless. You require genuine sleep, as do I."

~*~

For something he'd been planning since he was five or six years old, Harry was much more nervous than he thought he would be. As there were no witnesses to their bonding and no officiant, it would remain unofficial which, as far as such things went, meant very little to Harry. He'd had enough of Ministry rules and regulations, especially now that he was convinced they invented things out of whole cloth to suit their fancy.

Wearing nothing but his glasses and a smile, Harry went downstairs to find Severus moving aside the last bit of furniture in the living room. Gazing around, he shook his head. "How much space do you reckon we need?" Walking to the centre of the room, he wrapped his arms around Severus' middle, unsurprised when an arm encircled him.

"As I've not performed these spells before, I thought it prudent to allow for mishap." Severus gave a sideways glance at Harry. "You have a reputation for being at centre of chaos and destruction; I was merely being cautious."

"Sev, nothing explodes at weddings."

"Ah, but you've not been married before. And, as they say, there is a first time for everything."

"Git," Harry grumbled affectionately under his breath as he ducked out of Severus' arms. "We've Endless Ribbon in the right colours, collar and cuffs, and spices," he said as he looked over the items spread out on a low table with a blue silk runner draped lengthwise over it. Picking up a pinch of spice from the shallow bowl, he inhaled as he sifted it back in the bowl. "Cinnamon?"

"Amongst other things. Help me, please, with the garland." Small branches of fir, spruce and pine lay just inside the door, and Harry began to help Severus weave a large circle with them. Once they had completed that task, Severus consulted the book again. "I believe we have the essentials. Let us hope the holly wreaths are merely incidental."

Harry looked askance. Holly was imbued with a number of magical properties, as he well knew, including protection and great change. It was thought to symbolise rebirth and renewal, two things that certainly characterised this undertaking. When the ceremony was done, Harry would be reborn almost as an extension of Severus himself.

"Very well," Severus said with a sigh. " _Accio_ wreaths." From the spiral stairs leading to Severus' workshop came two wreaths of holly, with white berries clinging to the stems for dear life. He snatched one out of the air and plopped it on his head before setting the other gently on Harry's.

Reaching up, Harry straightened the wreath on Severus' head, attributing his surliness to nerves. "There. Are we set?" he asked, his hands cupping Severus' lean face.

Severus kissed him. "Permit me to read through once more and then we shall begin." Skimming through the instructions, he levitated the low table nearer the circle and then extended his hand to Harry. "Come, pet. It is time."

With a shiver of excitement, Harry took Severus' hand and progressed once around the outside of the garland of evergreens before being escorted inside. Watching as Severus turned to select a ribbon from the wide birch basket, Harry jumped when he heard commotion at their front door. Harry's wide alarmed eyes fastened on Severus as his would-be bondmate pulled Harry behind him.

"Downstairs," Severus hissed, readying his wand as he pressed up against the wall.

"I told you they'd have started." Luna's voice floated through the small entryway. "Put your wand away, Lucius, it's just us."

"And, dear girl," Lucius replied in the haughty tones only he could he could manage, "as I have said so many times before, we are intruding on a private matter. And Severus is nothing if not prepared for all eventualities."

A nervous chuckle Harry recognised as belonging to Neville Longbottom followed that statement. "Luna will have her way, Mr Malfoy. You should learn to trust her. 'Lo, Professor Snape. Where's Harry?"

"He's—"

"Oh, for Merlin's sake. Out of my way, young man. Severus? Harry? It's Poppy."

As Harry emerged from the spiral stair, he saw Pomfrey push her way past Lucius Malfoy, with Charlie Weasley right behind. "Umm, hi?" Harry said uncertainly as he came to stand next to Severus.

"Going traditional, eh Potter?" drawled Draco, his cool grey eyes sweeping over Harry's bare skin. "I'm a bit surprised by that, actually, you being a modern wizard and all."

"Been reading the _Prophet_ again, Malfoy? You should know by now you can't believe everything you read," Harry replied coolly. Draco's coming-of-age present from Pansy had been a full page announcement of their engagement. Draco had been furious and wasted no time ordering the _Daily Prophet_ to print a retraction.

Charlie clasped his hand on the back of Draco's neck and squeezed meaningfully. "Don't start with him, Draco," he whispered. "Unless you're willing to go public yourself."

"We can't," hissed Draco. "As you well know."

"We can," Charlie said quietly. "But I understand why you don't want to." It was the remnants of a discussion they'd been having ever since Arthur and Molly disowned him and the matter would not be decided today. "But we're here for Harry and Snape. Let's not spoil their day."

"Hi, Harry, Hello Professor," Luna sang out in her clear voice. "Oh, I see you were about to bond. It's a good thing we made it on time. This won't do at all." She gazed around placidly with her wide blue eyes. "Everyone, I need you to pick up some garland and take it outside. This way." Picking up several branches, she slipped the basket of ribbons onto her arm and led everyone to the end of the meadow.

Wearing a pale yellow robe, her blond hair streaming out behind her, Luna looked like a ray of sunshine shining in the midst of the green meadow. As Severus and Harry followed along behind, she directed their impromptu guests to fashion a circle some feet away from the centre of their property.

"What does she think she's doing?" sputtered Severus.

Harry shrugged. "She's Luna. She may operate on a different plane from the rest of us, but she's never wrong, at least not about things like this," he added hastily as Severus' eyebrow climbed into the danger zone. "I don't know how she did in Potions."

"She was...disconcerting," admitted Severus. If 'Unpredictable' were a grade, he'd have awarded her one. "Genius or unmitigated disaster. There was nothing in between."

"Lucius, you stand here. Charlie, over here," Luna said as she directed Charlie to stand opposite Lucius at the southern end of the circle. "Draco? I need you here," she continued, pointing to the eastern point and Neville, you stand on the west."

Once everyone was standing where placed, she closed her eyes and walked around the circle, humming an English folk tune under her breath. "This won't do. Neville, come here and take Charlie's place. Poppy, please stand where Neville was." She tugged and pulled people into position and then walked around the circle again. Harry swore he could hear her singing Good King Wenceslas under her breath.

"When's the Feast of Stephen?" Harry whispered to Severus as she passed.

"Not in June," remarked Severus dryly as he watched Luna arrange things to her satisfaction. "What is she doing?"

"No idea," Harry replied as Luna manhandled Charlie into a spot slightly behind and to the north of Poppy. Once she was happy with where he was standing, she placed the basket over Charlie's arm. "Trust her, Sev."

Severus snorted as the addled girl made yet another trek around the boughs of garland. The circle she created was much larger than the one they had crafted indoors, but as she led him into it, the garland crackled with magic and he found himself again revising his opinion of her.

"You will need to kneel through this, Professor," she said, her slightly protuberant eyes searching his face. "Will your knees be all right? Or should I cast a Cushioning Charm?"

From behind him, Lucius snorted. "I dare say Severus' knees will outlast us all."

Ignoring Lucius, Severus knelt in the precise spot indicated and gazed past Neville to his beloved Harry. On a purely intellectual level, he understood why the wizarding world wanted his head on a platter. He'd guided the young man through a traumatic childhood and turbulent adolescence, and he'd done his best to remain detached and objective. As always, Fate had dipped her hand into Harry's life, swirled his stars around and here they were.

He'd had no more say in the matter than Harry had. Nor had he any regrets.

Harry smiled as Luna approached and then took a position next to him. She extended her left hand, palm down and waited until he rested his hand lightly on top of it. Without a word, she escorted him ceremoniously into the circle and to where Severus knelt, waiting.

She inclined her head and he knelt facing his lover, his arms loose and relaxed by his side.

Stepping away, Luna bowed fully to the couple in the centre of the circle and then began to walk anti-clockwise around the circle, pausing when she reached Neville, representing the Southern point. "From the South, we beseech thee for energy and passion for Severus and Harry. Wilt thou grant thy request?"

Neville bowed respectfully and then replied, "The South grants unto Severus and Harry a lifetime of passion and love."

Continuing around in the same direction, she stopped when she reached Poppy Pomfrey. Again she bowed formally, and Harry felt magic pulsing in the ground beneath him. "From the West, we beseech thee for comfort and solace each in the other for Severus and Harry. Wilt thou grant thy request?"

Magic swirled around Poppy and Luna, fluttering their robes in the strong currents as Poppy returned the bow. "The West grants unto Severus and Harry the gift of serenity and peace. May their hearts' ease be found in each other."

Renewing her journey, she progressed regally three-quarters around the circle until she came face to face with Lucius Malfoy. Of all the people in attendance, she trusted him the least, but none of her misgivings showed in the depths of her clear blue eyes. "From the North, we beseech thee for a warm and happy home for Severus and Harry. Wilt thou grant thy request?"

As he bowed, something in Lucius' demeanour changed and a mien of profound respect fell over him. As he straightened, he regarded Luna with something approaching awe. "The North grants unto Severus and Harry a secure and joyous home filled with the bounty of their love," he intoned graciously.

At hearing Lucius' blessing Harry's eyes widened, and for a moment he appeared almost frightened. Frantic, he started to reach for Severus' hand, only to see a slight shake of his head warning him not to move.

"He does not know," Severus whispered so softly Harry wasn't sure if he'd heard it or not.

Smiling at Lucius' response, Luna continued around the circle until she reached her final destination, the Eastern point where she'd started. She stared at Draco for a moment, a crooked smile on her face and then bowed as she had done with the others. "From the East, we beseech thee for a new beginning for Severus and Harry. Wilt thou grant thy request?"

Gazing past Luna to Charlie, standing right outside the circle, Draco locked eyes with his lover for a moment before he bowed. He inclined his head to her as he spoke. "The East grants unto Severus and Harry new beginnings and new life." For a moment, he looked confused but shrugged it off. He would never understand Luna Lovegood.

"Having received the blessings from the South, the West, the North and the East, I ask if there are any impediments to Severus taking unto himself Harry for his bondmate."

A soft breeze wafted through the meadow filling the air with its fragrant perfume. A pair of birds chattered and chirped as they flew from branch to branch.

Walking over to Charlie, Luna selected the wide, flat bowl of spices from the basket. Closing her eyes and tilting her face back, she caught the direction of the wind and walked into the face of it until she was standing behind Poppy. Chanting so quietly none could hear, she sprinkled the spices over the garland, walking clockwise around it this time.

Once she had sealed the circle with her enchantments, she selected the tail end of a spool of crimson ribbon and pulled on it as she walked back to her spot in front of Draco. "Take each other's left wrists with your left hands. Harry, your hand should be underneath Professor Snape's," she instructed as she continued to gather more ribbon from the basket.

As they fumbled for each other's hands, Severus looked into the sunny face of their surprise officiant. "I believe at this point, it would be entirely appropriate for you to call me by name, Ms Lovegood."

"Only if you'll do the same," Luna replied, her smile deepening. Selecting a point in the long stream of bright red satin seemingly at random, she folded the ribbon in half and tied the doubled length around Severus' wrist. Tapping the knot with her wand, she smiled as it disappeared.

Chanting a spell, she wove the ribbon around their joined wrists from Severus to Harry and back again. Over and over she wound the satin until she was certain their hands couldn't come apart. Taking the sole loose end in her hand, she walked casually back to Charlie. "Hold this very tightly," she said, placing the end and the skein in his right hand. "Whatever you do, don't let go."

She returned to where Severus and Harry were kneeling and bent down. "Repeat these words when I tell you." She whispered the spell and straightened. "To the South, the West, the North and the East we beseech thee," she called in her high, clear voice.

Together, Harry and Severus spoke the words. "Obligatus es anima mea." There was an enormous flash of red and Harry was nearly pulled off balance by the sudden hard pull on his wrist. A quick glance confirmed Charlie was faring no better. Severus, rock that he was, barely moved. The ribbon disappeared into their skin; Harry's hand tingled intensely.

"You are now soul-bound, your lives intertwined for as long as you remain on this earthly plane." Her head turned sharply and she said, "Everyone remain where you are. We've not finished yet."

Lucius took a quick half-step forward to the place she had assigned to him.

Returning to the basket, she selected another ribbon, this one a rich violet. Finding the end, she started pulling it towards Severus and Harry, gathering up more and more of it as she walked.

"Would it help if I stood closer?" Charlie asked softly.

Luna shook her head and grinned. "Thanks, Charlie, but I need you right where you are." Trailing ribbon behind her, she walked up to Severus. "For these next bonds, I need your right hand, palm up, fingers curled. Like this." She made a hook with her hand and patted Severus on the shoulder when he complied.

Releasing his hold on Harry's left wrist, Severus held out his hand, quirking a brow at Harry as Luna studied his palm intensely. Wrapping the violet ribbon around Severus' hand, laying part of it on a precise line, she tapped her wand on it three times. The ribbon sank part-way into his skin and he looked at her in bemusement.

She did the same with Harry, placing a stretch of violet ribbon precisely across his palm, tapping it with her wand once she was finally satisfied with how it lay. She wound more ribbon around Harry's hand and up his arm, looping it back around Severus' fingers in a different pattern than the first.

"Close your hand," Luna said to Severus, nodding as he clenched the purple ribbons tightly in his fist, then whispered in his ear.

Again she trailed the ribbon back to Charlie. "Ready?" she asked impishly.

"As milady commands," he said with a slight bow. As she returned to the couple, he braced himself for the next wave of her powerful magic.

"To the South, the West, the North and the East we beseech thee," she called out again and like a clap of thunder after a sharp bolt of lightning, Severus' voice boomed through the clearing. 

" _Obligatus es vit meum_."

A violent flash of purple light enveloped Harry and snaked tendrils out towards Severus and along the ribbon to where Charlie stood resolute. Draco's eyes widened as the ground beneath Charlie's feet moved and he wondered if that crazy witch had managed to bind his partner to Harry somehow.

When Harry's eyes fluttered open, he found himself gazing into the angelic face of Luna Lovegood and she gave him a beatific smile.

"I have bound your life force to Severus'." Her smile faded and for a moment Harry thought her ageless. "At the moment of his passing, the force holding you to life will end. You will survive him by minutes only." Dropping a kiss of benediction on the top of his head, she returned to her basket.

Selecting this time a ribbon of deep emerald green, Luna repeated the process, binding Harry's heart to Severus'. When the third blast of magic rocked him, Charlie started to look a little bedraggled. "Do you have many more?" he asked, thinking Luna would be a match for any dragon on the preserve.

"Last one," she promised, "though I'm afraid it will be rather forceful." She peered into the basket and found a bright yellow ribbon and a shimmering gold one. "What luck," she chirped. "I'll explain everything when we're done, but this might hurt a little. Like Apparation but harder. If you wish, you can anchor yourself to Draco. Just keep eye contact with him, then you'll be as right as rain."

Taking a deep steadying breath, Charlie looked across the circle at Draco before nodding to Luna. "I'm ready," he said firmly.

Twisting the ribbons as she walked, tapping them occasionally with her wand, Luna hummed a merry tune as she pulled an unending stream of satin from the basket. "Hmm. I'll need you to open your robes, Severus," she said as she threaded several sections of ribbon through each other.

"My...what? My robes?" Blinking, Severus unbuttoned the top half of his sheer white robe, wondering how much flesh she needed exposed. Unpredictable, indeed.

"That's enough," she said as she wrapped a section around his chest, crossing it over his heart. Buttoning his robes back up, she left a very long tail running from between the sixth and seventh button which she then wrapped meticulously around Harry's arms and mid-section. "This is the incantation." Then she whispered in his ear yet again.

Then Luna did something curious. Untwisting a long section of gold ribbon away from the yellow, she moved behind Harry to loop it once around his left ankle, then his right wrist, crossing it in front of him and wrapping it back to his right ankle, once around his neck and ending with a final loop around his left wrist, tapping each spot with her wand as she encircled his ankles, wrists and neck. She stepped in front of Harry and gazed down at him. "Do you accept Severus Snape as having dominance over you in all things that are yours to give?"

For a moment Harry blanched. How had she known? He'd...they'd told nobody and Poppy would never give up her secrets, even to Luna. He stared at her, not knowing how to answer.

As if sensing his dilemma, Luna smiled. "Some things, Harry, cannot be given away, even to the one we love above all others. But it's a big step. If it's one you're not ready to take, I can remove those ribbons and go on with the rest of the spells."

"No, don't take them off," Harry said decisively. "It's something we've planned for a long time. Yes, I accept Severus Snape as my Master in all things that are his to claim."

Double-checking her handiwork, Luna waved her wand in a complicated fashion over the ribbons laced between the two men, singing softly under her breath. "To the South, the West, the North and the East we beseech thee," her voice sang out as she stepped away.

Gazing directly into Harry's green eyes, Severus spoke firmly, as though pouring all of his heart into the spell. " _Obligatus es voluntati meae_."

Harry's eyes widened as there was a searing pain in his head, worse by far than any Voldemort had levelled him with. A blinding flash of brilliant gold had spots dancing before his eyes, and as the ribbon vanished into his skin, he felt as though he was being compressed into a space the size of a raindrop. Seconds later, heat flashed through his veins and for a brief moment, he thought his body had exploded.

He saw blue. Blue as bright as a summer's day and it was then that Harry realised he was lying on his back, staring up into the sky. He didn't want to move, and having no reason to, didn't. From a great distance, someone was calling his name.

He ignored it.

Then his name rolled in again like thunder and he thought this time that maybe he should sit up. It seemed important that he do so. As he struggled back onto his knees, he became aware of dark eyes gazing at him from beneath furrowed brows.

"Harry?"

"Yes?" he answered hazily.

"Show me your arm."

Nodding, Harry held out his right arm for inspection. He blinked as his wrist sparkled and twinkled in the afternoon sun. A cuff of solid gold, three inches wide, wrapped around his wrist. There were no fastenings that he could see; indeed, it appeared to be part of his arm. He held out his other arm and found it to be the same.

Luna was speaking with Severus and Harry gazed around the circle to see Charlie coming to his feet, the contents of the basket scattered over the ground. He felt the end of a wand touch his arm...cuff...one of those and he blinked as a ring appeared on it out of nowhere. Another tap and it vanished. "Cool," he breathed, staring.

He glanced at Severus and then immediately lowered his eyes. Without thought, he spread his knees wide, lowered his head to the ground and held his wrists behind him. A tap of a wand and he could not pull them apart. He remained down. He was happy there.

"S. Tobias Prince and Evan Black," he heard Severus say, but paid it no mind. It did not concern him. "Up, pet." But that did and Harry sat up. He was pulled to his feet, but swayed precariously the moment he realised he couldn't move his feet. His ankles were bound.

"Clearly, we've some details to iron out," Severus said as he caught Harry before he stumbled.

Luna appeared amused. "Promenade around the circle," she instructed, making a shooing motion with her hand. "To the South, the West, the North and the East I give thee Severus Prince and his bondmate Harry, bound together by your magics and your bounty," she proclaimed.

Once Harry and Severus had made the journey all the way around and were busy in the middle kissing each other as though the rest of the world did not exist, Luna strode over to where Neville was standing and stepped out of the circle. "That was really nice, don't you think?"

"Rather impressive, actually," replied Neville as he slipped his arm around Luna's waist. "Who do you reckon will be able to do ours?"

"I was rather hoping Severus would. He's quite powerful and extraordinarily creative. Funny how no one thinks that about him." She blinked as Draco and Charlie wandered over after giving their congratulations to Harry and Severus.

"You were going to explain," Charlie prompted with a rueful smile.

"Oh, yes, I was."

"You didn't bind him to those two, did you?" demanded Draco, his silvery eyes smouldering. "Why was Charlie outside the circle, anyway?"

Luna blinked. "Oh, I thought that was obvious. With Uranus in the third house and Mars trine, I needed Charlie to balance the forces and lend his weight to the seventh house, especially since Lucius was anchoring the North." She leaned forward and said, "Lucius is rather charismatic and quite attractive, but it's a pity he's not as powerful as his aura would indicate. Do you know if he's had that checked?"

"Who _are_ you?" Draco said at last as he stared at her in a combination of amusement and horror.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Luna said, extending her hand. "I thought you knew. All this time and I've never introduced myself. I'm Luna Lovegood, from Ravenclaw. I just finished my sixth year at Hogwarts."

Neville, Charlie and Poppy struggled to keep their faces straight as Draco was struck dumb for one of the first times in his life. He took it and shook it weakly. "Draco Malfoy. Charlie, d'you reckon we could find our hosts and make our goodbyes?"

"Are you certain you want to leave this soon?" Charlie asked with a wide grin. "Your father's just encountered Dobby."

 

For nearly two years, Severus and Harry led an idyllic life. The first three months of their union was rocky and fraught with missteps whilst Severus learned how to exert his will without completely subsuming Harry's personality in the process. That Luna had managed to bind Harry's magic to Severus' came as a surprise to both of them, especially since Harry was in the middle of a Wronski Feint when Severus found himself wishing his beloved pet would not frighten him like that. The net result of that wish was a dislocated shoulder, a broken collarbone and a chipped tooth for Harry and six weeks of a guilty conscience for Severus.

Whilst Harry immersed himself in gardening and wand lore, Severus made regular visits to the wizarding section of Dublin to meet with members of the Potions Guild there. In due course, meaning after several bitter arguments and more hurt feelings than a Gryffindor/Slytherin Quidditch match, Severus was accepted as a full member with all the rights and privileges pertaining thereto.

With Neville's assistance, they created a large garden where Harry grew herbs and rare plants suited to the environment of Lough Key where they'd built their home. After several acrimonious meetings during which Severus attempted to ascertain whether there was a niche market for several lucrative potions, he was granted a license to develop, create, brew and sell potions promoting the health and well-being of magical creatures and beings.

"Should Ms Granger wish to make a name for herself, she might work for the Irish Ministry," Severus said in disgust once the terms and conditions of his license arrived. "There are loopholes in here big enough to sail Noah's Ark through."

Harry looked up from the block of mpingo, an African Blackwood, he was carving. "Who's Noah?" he asked.

"The man responsible for the extinction of unicorns," replied Severus.

"But they're not extinct."

"Precisely, meaning he is no one of consequence." Severus came to a halt behind Harry, buried his hand in his pet's messy black hair and pulled. Bending, he gave Harry a deep, demanding kiss. "I must go to the Ministry. Pray that Uma is not working in Records today. If she is, I may be delayed. Otherwise, I would expect to be gone no more than half an hour."

Harry's brow knit in confusion. "But you have the license. Why do you need to go down there?"

Severus sighed. "To register 'The Prince's Cauldron' as the name of the business, despite the name being on the license. To do so requires I appear in person and pay the five Irish Galleon fee." He kissed Harry again, then again, then once more for good measure. "You will be careful whilst I'm away."

"As always." As he started to stand, he winced and rubbed his lower back. "Need to move around a bit. I've been sitting too long."

Severus frowned. "If it grows worse, have Dobby attend you."

"If it grows worse, I'll wait for you to get back and attend me," Harry replied with a smile. "Don't worry, Sev. We're fine."

"Very well." Kissing Harry again, Severus moved to the corner of the room and Disapparated.

Harry watched as Severus disappeared in a swirl of deep green cloth and then went back to his carving. Since he'd left Hogwarts with his six N.E.W.T.s, he'd corresponded regularly with Ollivander, expressing a mild interest in wand lore. Eventually, Ollivander wrote back saying the only true way to understand wands was to create some for himself. After over a year of patient study, Harry had acquired some blocks of wood, ones he felt a strong affinity for.

Following the instructions and letting instinct guide him, something that vaguely resembled a wand was beginning to emerge from the wood. It was, Severus told him, much like bonsai where everything that was not part of the essence of the tree was trimmed away. Twirling the emerging wand in his fingers, Harry carved another long, thin strip of wood away, watching it curl onto the floor.

Engrossed in his work, he jumped at hearing the crack of Apparition. True to his word, Severus was back. Hoisting himself out of his chair, he lumbered across the room to where his Master was removing his outer robes.

"Uma wasn't working, then?"

"No, she wasn't. Most fortunate, wouldn't you agree?"

Harry purred as Severus' hand moved along his spine, the runes tingling like always. "Yes, absolutely."

As they kissed, Severus slid a finger along Harry's crack, pressing gently against the opening, retreating as Harry's spine arched in an attempt to capture his finger. "Find somewhere you'll be comfortable, pet," Severus murmured against Harry's parted lips before his tongue delved in again to taste the sweetness of his bondmate.

"Sofa's best," replied Harry as he removed himself from Severus' arms. Making his way slowly over to the leather sofa, he knelt up on it, resting his chest along the top. Hearing the hiss of fabric whispering off his Master's body, Harry inhaled deeply and he moaned as his arms were pulled back. A tap of Severus' wand bound each wrist to its corresponding ankle.

The gold collar that was a part of him lengthened, preventing him from turning his head as much as an inch and he clutched at his feet, feeling off-balance. Strong hands cupped his arse and he felt Severus' thumbs pulling his cheeks apart. A moment later he cried out as Severus' tongue circled around his hole, flicking and teasing it until Harry was a (barely) writhing, whimpering mess.

Parting his lips to beg for more, Harry was immediately frustrated when he found he could not speak, indeed, could make no sound at all. He shivered and wiggled as Severus' tongue burrowed into him, tried to throw his head back and belatedly remembered that wasn't possible either.

Panting, mouth open to keen his neediness, Harry let loose a silent sob when he felt the blunt head of Severus' cock push against him. _Yes yes yes yes yes_ , he mouthed as he tried to wriggle back onto it. Feeling it retreat, he stilled his hips and gritted his teeth, his body aching to be plundered. Gazing out at the trees, he relaxed as much as he could, then opened his mouth in a silent scream as Severus thrust hard and deep inside with a throaty growl.

It was glorious. His shoulders against Severus', Harry shivered and trembled as Severus plundered his immobilised body. Every sharp jolt over his prostate exploded starbursts behind his eyes until the forest beyond the walls became but a memory. His body jerked hard as long fingers pinched and twisted his hardened nipples and when Severus slammed in deep and went still, his cock pulsing deep inside Harry's body, he arched as much as his position allowed, his eyelids fluttering closed as his entire body screamed for release.

Tears streamed down his cheeks, his bollocks so sore he could barely stand it and when Severus withdrew, Harry wanted to scream in anger. A tap of Severus' wand released him from his position, but did not bring back his ability to speak. Instead, long fingers massaged the tight muscles in his shoulders and neck whilst Severus murmured soothing words in his ear.

When Harry was finally soft again, his cock flaccid, he found he could speak. "Before too much longer, I think the only thing that will work is a cold shower."

"Which you will take alone," Severus said with a wicked grin. "Come, pet, let us eat, then you will rest." 

A quick wave of Severus' wand had Harry clean again and as they sat down to tea Harry asked, "When will you be able to open the Potions business?"

"The first advertisement should appear in The Medium Sunday next. We've a drop box at Molly Malone's where Hedwig can pick up messages once a week," Severus replied as Dobby poured out. "There are also several Potioneers who have pro—"

A dazzling flash of bright light burst all around them accompanied by a deafening roar that shook the foundations of the house and both Harry and Severus instinctively ducked their heads in case the ceiling decided to collapse in on them.

Ears ringing and waiting for the dancing spots to fade from his vision, Harry started to ask what had happened when the front door burst apart, shards of wood flying everywhere. No sooner had Severus started to leap across the table to interject himself between Harry and the remains of their door than the entryway was filled with a cadre of maroon-robed Aurors.

"Severus Snape, you are under arrest for crimes against the person of Harry Potter," announced one Harry vaguely recognized as Hiram Proudfoot as the rest of the Aurors fanned out behind him.

"You have no jurisdiction here," sneered Severus, thrusting Harry behind him as he cast a Patronus and sent it off in a blaze of white. "We are here by invitation of the Irish Minister for Wizardry and under the Ministry's protection."

"You have been tried in absentia and sentenced to forty-two years in Azkaban. You are further ordered to surrender your Order of Merlin, Second Class to the proper authorities and return forthwith the monies awarded, to wit, eight Galleons, twelve Sickles and fourteen Knuts."

Casting another Patronus, Severus lifted an eyebrow and asked, "Anyone have change for a Sickle?"

"Will you come quietly?" asked Proudfoot.

Harry snorted as he stepped out from behind Severus. "Is he kidding? Dobby?" he called, his face hardening as their house-elf popped in next to him, "I need my wand."

Dobby snapped his fingers, erecting a protective barrier between the Aurors and his family. "Is Master's Harry permitted his wand, Master Sir?"

"Quickly, Dobby," snarled Severus, keeping track of everyone now moving through their house.

Proudfoot blinked as behind him several Aurors gasped. "You're...you're..."

"Harry Prince?" Harry supplied helpfully as a number of white streaks flashed past their windows.

"Pregnant," gasped Proudfoot as Dobby appeared with Harry's famous holly wand in hand.

"And naked. Wotcher, Harry?" asked Tonks with a grin as she burst through the open doorway, stepped on a small piece of wood and tumbled arse over teakettle through the room. "Ow," she moaned, clutching her shoulder as Charlie and Draco walked in behind her, wands drawn.

"What?" exclaimed Harry as he glanced down. So he was. He spent all of his time indoors wearing nothing at all and was long past the point where he was aware of his nudity. "Dobby, a robe if you please," he said as he took his wand, casting a third Patronus the second it touched his hand. "Tonks, you okay?"

Coming to her face with a grimace, Tonks nodded. "Will be soon enough. Kingsley's—"

"Right here," boomed a deep familiar voice.

"Harry, you're so much bigger," enthused Luna as she and Neville walked in, Lucius and Poppy hard on her heels. Moments later, Aberforth wandered in, looking around.

"Yeah, I feel like a small shed," Harry said as he shrugged on a robe that somehow seemed to emphasise his girth. "Three more months. Can you believe it? Poppy doesn't think I'll make it that far, though."

"You're a Bearer," sputtered Dawlish. "You should have been taken into custody ages ago." He reached for Harry's arm, only to let out a piercing scream when he was hit by three curses.

The scream brought more people running, all dressed in the emerald green robes of the Irish Protective Service. "And might I be knowin' what this brouhaha is about?" asked a solidly built middle aged man. He was nearly as tall as Kingsley and easily as broad.

"Excellent question," Kingsley replied. "Kingsley Shacklebolt, Senior Auror, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Ministry of Magic, United Kingdom. And who might I have the pleasure of speaking with?"

"Eric O'Bannon, Senior Investigator, Protective Services Division, Irish Ministry of Magic." He flashed Kingsley a grin. "That's in Ireland, as in right here."

Moving into a spot behind Harry, Severus wrapped his arms protectively around his bondmate, resting them on the shelf formed by Harry's burgeoning belly. "Might you remove these people that Harry and I might finish our tea?" growled Severus as people began wandering through their home as if on a sight-seeing tour.

"Mr Potter is required to surrender his person to the Ministry at once!" squawked Proudfoot. "He is a Bearer and there are regulations for their protection. When the Wizengamot hears—"

"Rules?" snarled Severus. "Rules? Are you familiar with what becomes of Bearers once taken into Ministry custody?" As Harry shifted slightly, he wrapped an arm around him and moved him to a soft chair where he'd be more comfortable. "Charlie? Draco? Would you round up all the busybodies and bring them in here? By force, if you must." His expression left no doubt that he would be disappointed if some weren't used.

As Snape looked around, he noticed with grim satisfaction that each one of their friends was covering one of the Aurors and that the Irish had an eye on Kingsley and Tonks. Given that the pair had interviewed them, he wasn't sure where their loyalties lay.

Once everyone had been moved, some at wand point, into the living room and given a place to sit, Severus began to explain. "As you are undoubtedly aware, Bearers are quite rare. As they must be born of two magical parents, they never appear in Muggleborns or true half-bloods, such as me. Whilst Harry is considered a half-blood because his mother was Muggleborn, his parents were powerful wizards.

"Children born of magical parents by and large grow up in the magical world. By and large, such children go through the usual childhood illnesses, such as Dragon Pox, and are seen by Healers when they are quite small. It is then that a Bearer's state is discovered. Those Bearers are given a suppressant annually until they come of age.

"This suppressant does two things: it dampens a Bearer's natural fertility and prevents the Bearer from bonding with his true mate. A Bearer who matures without being administered the suppressant forms a permanent attachment to an eligible gay male, usually before the Bearer's milk teeth have fallen. Those given the suppressant never form this bond." As he spoke, he moved throughout the room until he came to a halt at Harry's side. His hand came to rest on his bondmate's shoulder.

"The other component of the suppressant, the more invidious portion, is that it wrests control of the Bearer's fertility away from him and places it in the hands of the sire. A natural Bearer, such as Harry, has full control of his fertility and decides for himself when to conceive and how many children he will bear when he does. A suppressed Bearer does not possess either choice. The man who fucks him can bring him into season and choose how many children the Bearer will carry.

"What the Ministry does not want anyone to know is that Bearers taken into their custody are little more than brood mares, each conception sold to the highest bidder. The Bearer is forced to conceive children, gives birth to them and has them torn from him almost the moment they take their first breath. Because they heal so quickly, they can be auctioned off again in as little as a month's time.

A hush fell over the room as Severus gave them all a glimpse behind one of the Ministry's heaviest curtains. "Why, why that's preposterous," spat Proudfoot. "Everyone knows Bearers are revered by the Ministry, given all the best accommodations and the best care the Ministry can provide."

"Have you ever met a Bearer?" Poppy demanded. "Besides our Harry, have you ever seen one when they've been retired?" Her steel grey eyes narrowed. "Did you know that the record for most births from a single Bearer is two hundred seventeen?"

Harry's stomach lurched. Not even he had known that.

"That's a fine story," interjected Dawlish, "but it doesn't change the fact that Snape here is a prisoner of Azkaban and Potter is a Bearer." His face took on an ugly expression. "And having him up the duff as it were proves he was raped."

"Did you miss the part where I indicated that natural Bearers form bonds in childhood?" sneered Snape. "Harry bonded himself to me before he was six. We did not learn he was a Bearer for more than ten years after that."

"How did you discover Harry's status?" asked Lucius, his eyes cutting over to Charlie in speculation.

"Sorry, Mr Malfoy," Charlie said with a grimace, "but I'm afraid I can't help you with your succession problem."

"It was merely a thought," said Lucius, flicking off an invisible piece of lint from his robes.

"As for how we found out," Harry interjected before the conversation could go too far astray, "umm, Severus thought I tasted funny." He blushed. Tonks turned the colour of her hair—a brilliant bubblegum pink.

"I said you tasted sweet," growled Severus, swatting the back of Harry's head lightly. "Poppy ran some diagnostic tests and confirmed my suspicions."

"Aha!" exclaimed Proudfoot. "Failure to report Bearer status is punishable by five years in Azkaban.

"For boys under the age of ten," scoffed Poppy. "Harry was sixteen and of the age of consent."

"I suggest," said Kingsley, "that we adjourn to the Ministry to sort this mess out."

"I'm sorry, Kingsley," said Harry, "but I have to decline. I can't leave."

Kingsley gave Harry a sympathetic glance. "I understand that Apparating might be dangerous for someone in your condition. When are you due?"

"Not for about three months yet, 28 June," replied Harry, "but that doesn't—"

"He's going to have his babies on 3 June," said Luna serenely. "Harry's carrying triplets. Two boys, one girl."

As much as Harry adored Luna, right now he could strangle her. "Good to know. We'll make the arrangements for then. But that has nothing to do with it. I can't leave here. Sorry."

"In that case, we'll just take Snape," said Dawlish. "He's the one we're here to collect anyway. A few years in Azkaban whilst we get this untangled will do you a world of good."

He took a step towards Severus, but a sudden Jelly-Legs Jinx had him wobbling around the room in circles.

Luna tucked her wand back in her pocket and shrugged. "Severus can't leave Harry for more than a day and Harry can't leave here. Perhaps there's another solution?"

O'Bannon rubbed the centre of his forehead and muttered something in Gaelic. "This is why we gave the boot to you English. Perhaps then, Lass, you'll be explaining all this?"

Severus gestured to Luna with his hand as Harry rubbed his belly. His babies were restless and not having much room to move made them try that much harder.

"As you wish," Luna replied in her strange serene fashion. "Harry is bound by magic to this land. If he leaves, he dies. He has runes around his neck, down his spine, around his waist," she glanced at Harry and his rounded belly, "around where his waist used to be, and on the bottoms of his feet."

As if to prove the truth of her words, Harry lifted his feet and displayed the runes, the marks as dark as tattoos.

"I bonded Severus and Harry almost two years ago," she continued, "using the most powerful spells I could find, anchoring them to the compass points. Harry is bound to Severus' heart, his will, and his magic. Because of the intersection of these bonds with the compass points and the way they were anchored to the magic inherent in the seventh house, Harry's life force is tied to Severus's life force as well as his magic. Harry needs to remain near Severus to survive."

Luna looked around the room and counted the number of people gazing blankly at her. Nine, by her count. Better than usual. "The solution is obvious, is it not?"

Not wishing to feel like the only idiot in the room, O'Bannon hesitated a moment before speaking. "Perhaps, Lass, if you'll be explaining it to us, given that you've done such a splendid piece of clarifying already."

"Why, house arrest, of course," Luna replied simply. "Severus and Harry remain here, under new wards, under new protections, away from the wizarding world. Severus can brew and Harry can raise their children."

Kingsley nodded. It was a simple, yet elegant solution. "If they were bound when Harry was six, the conviction must be overturned. A Bearer is a precious commodity, so if Harry cannot leave this place, the Ministry must grant him sanctuary. I will write the report and submit it to Scrimgeour next week. In the meantime, I will dispatch a Ministry team to rebuild your wards."

Severus shook his head. "We will build our own wards this time."

"Gotta hand it to whoever built these," muttered Proudfoot. "Took us a bloody month to break 'em."

"You could repair the door," suggested Harry, leaning back in the chair, praying all of this was well behind them. He glanced up, took Severus' hand and nuzzled against it. "All I want is a quiet life. Is that so much to ask?"

"I'm afraid, pet," Severus said with a soft smile, "your quiet days are well behind you."

 

Epilogue

It had been nearly twenty years since Minerva McGonagall had stood silently at her tower window and watched as Severus and Harry made their escape. She'd diverted and misdirected the Ministry for well over a year until they'd gotten a lead from a disgruntled Irish Potions Master who Severus had referred to as Patient Zero in an epidemic of idiocy whilst arguing over the use of powered moonstone in some potion or another.

Upon learning the Boy-Who-Lived was also a Bearer, the Ministry was willing to drop all charges against Harry and reduce Severus' sentence if Harry would present himself to the Ministry and allow himself to be taken into protective custody. Declining the Ministry's gracious invitation, they'd negotiated a truce and thanks to the Department of Mysteries, Harry and Severus had appeared to vanish off the face of the earth. Rumour had it that a few select souls knew where they were and how to reach them, but unless one's name appeared on a very short list, they were beyond reach.

In time, the wizarding world forgot about Harry Potter and Severus Snape.

Watching the Sorting Hat place the 28th, 29th and 30th Prince into Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Slytherin, she found herself wondering yet again if these children were somehow related to her long-lost friends. She'd spoken to the second oldest, Nicodemus, and asked about his parents his first night at Hogwarts, seven long years ago. "Your father's name is?" she'd asked the newest member of Gryffindor House.

"Tobias, ma'am," he said respectfully.

"And your mum?"

"His name is Evan," Nicodemus replied.

"His?"

"Yes," replied Nicodemus, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Your parents are Tobias and Evan Prince?" she questioned, her wrinkled brow furrowing more.

"Yes, ma'am!" the child replied brightly, his dark eyes shining up at her. "May I go?"

"Of course," Minerva replied, shaking herself out of her reminiscences. "Off to bed with you."

Twenty years, thirty children. Only Harry. "Never do things by halves, do you, child?" she asked out loud as she climbed the stairs to her office.

~FIN~


End file.
